| ARTICLES | Volume 1, Issue 9, Pages 332-337 (October 2015)

Research Article    PREVALENCE OF IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG URBAIN SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KENITRA,  NORTH WEST OF MOROCCO      |  Imane Achouri | Youssef Aboussaleh | Rachid Sbaibi| Ahmed  Ahami | and | Mohamed El Hioui |. American Journal of Innovative Research and Applied Sciences. 2015; 1(9):332-337.      | PDF FULL TEXT |

ABSTRACT Background: Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of nutritional anemia; it has been recognized as an important health problem in Morocco. Objective: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among school children in Kenitra city, North West of Morocco and its association with socioeconomic, educational level, anthropometric and diet factors. Methods: The sample represents 271 school children randomly chosen of all educational levels, aged 6 to 15 years (Mean= 10.75 years ± SD=1.40). The level of haemoglobin, was measured. Anemia was defined when haemoglobin ≤ 11.5 g/dl. A questionnaire was developed to obtain information about educational level of the parents, socio-economic and daily food consumption from plant and animal source. Anthropometric measurements were carried out according to the WHO standards. Anthropometric indices were determined by Z scores calculated by the WHO growth references 2007. Results: The mean hemoglobin concentration was 12.45 g/dl: 12.52 g/dl for boys and 12.41 g/dl for girls. The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia was 16.2%: There is a significant difference of anemia prevalence between girls (12.3%) and boys (19.5%). It is directly correlated to educational level of mothers, sex, anthropometric and diet factors. Conclusions: It is concluded that anemia is less prevalent (16.2%) in this study and it was found to be higher (32.1%) in children who take foods of animal sources less frequently (less than once a week). Key words: Prevalence, Iron deficiency, Anemia, School children, Morocco.