Prevalence and Associated factors of Anemia in 9-month-old infants receiving weekly iron supplementation

Abstract

Objective: To study prevalence and associated factors of anemia in 9-month-old infants receiving weekly iron supplementation since their 6 months of age, and outcome after 4 weeks of iron treatment in anemic infants.
Methods: In this cross-sectional analytic study, healthy infants aged 9 months were included. Data were collected from parent interviews, maternal antenatal records and child vaccination book (pink book) and laboratory results from November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021 at Health Promotion Center Region 5, Ratchaburi. Hematocrit was assessed at age 9 month. Anemia was defined as hematocrit < 33% and anemic infants were treated with iron 4-6 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. The statistics used to analyze data were frequency, percentage, chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test.
Results: 275 infants participated in the study, The prevalence of anemia at 9 months of age was 12% (n=33). Factor significantly associated with anemic infants who already received weekly iron supplement was the previous history of illness one month prior to assessment (p=0.018). After iron treatment (4-6mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks, 13 of 33 anemic infants were diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia (39.4%) by Therapeutic diagnosis criteria.
Conclusion: The prevalence of anemic infant who received weekly iron supplement remains high (12%). Anemia screening in infants age 6-12 months should be applied comprehensively for early detection of anemia, especially in infants with history of illness in the past.