Prevalence and factors associated with anemia among children under five years of age in Rombo district, Kilimanjaro region, Northern Tanzania
(2023) In F1000Research 9.- Abstract
Background: Anemia is a severe public health problem affecting more than half of children under five years of age in low-, middle- and high-income countries. We aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with anemia among children under five years of age in northern Tanzania. Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in Rombo district, Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania in April 2016. Multistage sampling technique was used to select a total of 602 consenting mothers and their children aged 6-59 months and interviewed using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Stata version 15.1. We used generalized linear models (binomial family and logit link function) with robust variance estimator to... (More)
Background: Anemia is a severe public health problem affecting more than half of children under five years of age in low-, middle- and high-income countries. We aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with anemia among children under five years of age in northern Tanzania. Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in Rombo district, Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania in April 2016. Multistage sampling technique was used to select a total of 602 consenting mothers and their children aged 6-59 months and interviewed using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Stata version 15.1. We used generalized linear models (binomial family and logit link function) with robust variance estimator to determine factors associated with anemia. Results: Prevalence of anemia was 37.9%, and it was significantly higher among children aged 6-23 months (48.3%) compared to those aged 24-59 months (28.5%). There were no significant differences in anemia prevalence by sex of the child. Adjusted for other factors, children aged 6-23 months had over two times higher odds of being anemic (OR=2.44, 95% CI 1.71, 3.49, p<0.001) compared to those aged 24-59 months. No significant association was found between maternal and nutritional characteristics with anemia among children in this study. Conclusion: Prevalence of anemia was lower than the national and regional prevalence but it still constitutes a significant public health problem, especially among children aged 6-23 months. Interventions such as iron supplementation, food fortification and dietary diversification and management of childhood illnesses in this setting should be targeted towards mothers and children less than two years.
(Less)
- author
- Mboya, Innocent B. LU ; Mamseri, Redempta ; Leyaro, Beatrice J. ; George, Johnston ; Msuya, Sia E. and Mgongo, Melina
- publishing date
- 2023-02-02
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Anemia, prevalence, risk factors, Tanzania, under five children
- in
- F1000Research
- volume
- 9
- article number
- 1102
- publisher
- F1000 Research Ltd.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85132898978
- pmid:36819212
- ISSN
- 2046-1402
- DOI
- 10.12688/f1000research.24707.3
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: Copyright: © 2020 Mboya IB et al.
- id
- 196f5823-9fca-40f0-8076-193c48b16824
- date added to LUP
- 2023-03-09 12:18:27
- date last changed
- 2024-09-20 00:09:30
@article{196f5823-9fca-40f0-8076-193c48b16824, abstract = {{<p>Background: Anemia is a severe public health problem affecting more than half of children under five years of age in low-, middle- and high-income countries. We aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with anemia among children under five years of age in northern Tanzania. Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in Rombo district, Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania in April 2016. Multistage sampling technique was used to select a total of 602 consenting mothers and their children aged 6-59 months and interviewed using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Stata version 15.1. We used generalized linear models (binomial family and logit link function) with robust variance estimator to determine factors associated with anemia. Results: Prevalence of anemia was 37.9%, and it was significantly higher among children aged 6-23 months (48.3%) compared to those aged 24-59 months (28.5%). There were no significant differences in anemia prevalence by sex of the child. Adjusted for other factors, children aged 6-23 months had over two times higher odds of being anemic (OR=2.44, 95% CI 1.71, 3.49, p<0.001) compared to those aged 24-59 months. No significant association was found between maternal and nutritional characteristics with anemia among children in this study. Conclusion: Prevalence of anemia was lower than the national and regional prevalence but it still constitutes a significant public health problem, especially among children aged 6-23 months. Interventions such as iron supplementation, food fortification and dietary diversification and management of childhood illnesses in this setting should be targeted towards mothers and children less than two years.</p>}}, author = {{Mboya, Innocent B. and Mamseri, Redempta and Leyaro, Beatrice J. and George, Johnston and Msuya, Sia E. and Mgongo, Melina}}, issn = {{2046-1402}}, keywords = {{Anemia; prevalence; risk factors; Tanzania; under five children}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{02}}, publisher = {{F1000 Research Ltd.}}, series = {{F1000Research}}, title = {{Prevalence and factors associated with anemia among children under five years of age in Rombo district, Kilimanjaro region, Northern Tanzania}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.24707.3}}, doi = {{10.12688/f1000research.24707.3}}, volume = {{9}}, year = {{2023}}, }