Iron deficiency anemia among kindergarten children living in the marginalized areas of Gaza Strip Palestine

BACKGROUND: iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of nutritional anemia; it has been recognized as an important health problem in Palestine. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence and to identify possible risk factors of iron deficiency anemia among kindergarten children living in the marginalized areas of the Gaza Strip and to evaluate the effectiveness of supplementing oral iron formula in the anemic children. METHODS: the study included 735 (384 male and 351 female) kindergarten children. Data was collected by questionnaire interviews, anthropometric measurements, and complete blood count analysis. All iron deficient anemic children were treated using an oral iron formula (50 mg ferrous carbonate + 100 mg vitamin C /5 mL) and the complete blood count was reassessed after three months. A univariate analysis and a multiple logistic regression model were constructed; crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR), and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. RESULTS: the overall prevalence of iron deficiency anemia was 33.5% with no significant differences between boys and girls. Significantly different prevalences of iron deficiency anemia were reported between different governorates of the Gaza Strip. Governorate, low education level of the parents and smoking are significant risk factors for children developing anemia. Significantly lower complete blood count parameters, except for WBC, were reported in anemic children. The oral iron treatment significantly improved hemoglobin concentrations, and normalized the iron deficiency marker. CONCLUSIONS: iron deficiency anemia is a serious health problem among children living in the marginalized areas of the Gaza Strip, which justifies the necessity for national intervention programs to improve the health status for the less fortunate development areas.