Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 6, 2023; 11(28): 6744-6753
Published online Oct 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i28.6744
Anemia status of infants and young children aged six to thirty-six months in Ma'anshan City: A retrospective study
Xue-Mei Wang, Qiong-Yao Wang, Jie Huang
Xue-Mei Wang, Qiong-Yao Wang, Department of Pediatric, Ma’anshan Maternal and Child Health Center, Ma’anshan 243011, Anhui Province, China
Jie Huang, Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Wang XM contributed to the conceptualization, project administration, visualization, and writing-review & editing; Wang XM and Huang J contributed to the data curation, methodology, and writing-original draft; Wang QY contributed to the formal analysis, software, and supervision; Huang J contributed to the resources and validation; Wang XM and Wang QY contributed to the investigation.
Institutional review board statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013). The study was approved by Institutional Review Board of Ma’anshan Maternal and Child Health Center. All the study subjects provided informed consent.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: Not applicable.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xue-Mei Wang, MM, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Pediatric, Ma’anshan Maternal and Child Health Center, No. 446 Jiashan Road, Ma’anshan 243011, Anhui Province, China. xuemeiwang23@163.com
Received: August 21, 2023
Peer-review started: August 21, 2023
First decision: August 30, 2023
Revised: August 31, 2023
Accepted: September 6, 2023
Article in press: September 6, 2023
Published online: October 6, 2023
Processing time: 35 Days and 1.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Anemia in infants and young children can have long-term effects on cognitive and physical development. In Ma'anshan City, China, there has been growing concern about the prevalence of anemia among children aged 6 to 36 mo. Understanding the factors influencing this condition is crucial for targeted interventions and improving overall child health in the region.

AIM

To analyze the anemia status and influencing factors of infants and young children aged 6 to 36 mo in Ma'anshan City, China. Providing scientific evidence for reducing the incidence of anemia and improving the health level of children in this age group.

METHODS

The study encompassed 37698 infants and young children, aged from 6 to 36 mo, who underwent health examinations at the Ma'anshan Maternal and Child Health Hospital from January 2018 to October 2022 were included in the study. Basic information, physical examination, and hemoglobin detection data were collected. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the prevalence of anemia in children in the region, and univariate analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of anemia.

RESULTS

The mean hemoglobin level of infants and young children aged 9 to 36 mo increased with age, and the anemia detection rate decreased with age. The anemia detection rate in rural infants aged 6, 9, and 12 mo was higher than that in urban infants. Although the anemia detection rate was higher in 6-mo-old boys than girls, it was higher in 24-mo-old girls than boys. There were statistically significant differences in the anemia detection rates among 9-mo-old and 12-mo-old infants with different nutritional statuses (emaciation, overweight, obese, and normal). Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences in anemia detection rates among infants and young children with different nutritional statuses at other ages. Besides, the anemia detection rates in obese infants aged 9 and 12 mo were higher than those in normal and overweight infants, with statistically significant differences. Finally, there were no statistically significant differences in the anemia detection rates between emaciation infants and those with other nutritional statuses.

CONCLUSION

The anemia situation among infants and young children aged 6 to 36 mo in Ma'anshan City, China, is relatively prominent and influenced by various factors. Our result shown that attention should be paid to the anemic infant and young child population, with strengthened education and targeted prevention and dietary guidance to help them establish good living habits, improve nutritional status, and reduce the occurrence of anemia to improve children's health levels.

Keywords: Infants; Children; Anemia; Hemoglobin; Anemia detection rates

Core Tip: In Ma'anshan City, China, anemia is notably prevalent among infants and young children aged 6 to 36 mo, with its incidence influenced by age, urban-rural differences, gender, and nutritional status. Particularly, rural infants and those with certain nutritional statuses, such as obesity, show higher anemia detection rates. To enhance children's health, it's imperative to focus on this vulnerable group, offering them specialized education, dietary guidance, and preventive measures to foster healthy living habits and better nutritional outcomes.