Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia among school children in Kenitra, Northwest of Morocco

Abstract

Iron deficiency anaemia is an important health problem in Morocco. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of anaemia among school children in Kenitra. The sample represents school children of all educational levels and age ranged between 6-15 years. The level of hemoglobin, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was measured in a group of 271 school children. The seric iron was assessed and anaemia was defined when hemoglobin <11.5 g dL-1. A questionnaire was developed to obtain information about the daily food consumption and socio-economic conditions. The prevalence of anaemia was 16.2%. The mean hemoglobin concentration was 12.53 g dL-1 in boys and 12.52 g dL-1 in girls. The results suggest that iron deficiency is an important determinant of anaemia in this population. There was a significant relationship between education of the mother and anaemia in children (p = 0.004) but not with the family income. It is concluded that improving the economic status of the family, women education and health education about balanced animal and plant food consumption are recommended strategies to reduce the burden of anaemia.