A Hospital Based Study on Anemia Prevalence in Children of an Indian Island

Background Anemia is a major public health problem in India, affects all age groups but children and women in childbearing age group are the most vulnerable. However, data from hospital patients of Indian islands are not available. We aimed to study the prevalence of anemia among children aged 2-12 years of age attending a tertiary care hospital (India). Materials and Methods A total of 444 children aged 2-12 years were enrolled in the study over six months from August 2015 to Jan 2016. A complete blood count was obtained by taking 2ml of blood using fully automated MINDRAY Hemat analyser-BC5800. Anemia was diagnosed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standard for the given age. The data was analyzed and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results Overall prevalence of anemia among the children 2-12 years of age was 32.21%. Severity wise, mild Anemia was the commonest (56.64%), while severe Anemia was rare. The prevalence of Anemia was slightly more among girls compared to boys although not statistically significant (p>0.05). Both Anemia and mean Hemoglobin (Hb) was significantly associated with age (p0.05). Conclusion At current study, Anemia is common among the children of Andaman Nicobar (India), and affects boys and girls equally. Although mild anemia is very common, it remains asymptomatic and therefore goes unnoticed and untreated.