Prevalence, morphological characterization, and associated factors of anemia among children below 5 years of age attending St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor, Gulu District, Northern Uganda

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic factors associated with anemia among children under 5 years of age

Variables	Frequency (%)	Anemic, n (%)	Nonanemic, n (%)
Gender
Male	128 (37.3)	69 (53.9)	59 (46.1)
Female	215 (62.7)	93 (43.3)	122 (56.7)
Age (months)
Under 11	69 (20.1)	49 (71.0)	20 (29.0)
12–23	104 (30.3)	41 (39.4)	63 (60.6)
24–35	35 (10.2)	33 (94.3)	2 (5.7)
36–47	88 (25.7)	12 (13.6)	76 (86.4)
>48	47 (13.7)	27 (57.4	20 (42.6)
Caregiver’s knowledge of anemia
Yes	197 (57.4)	76 (38.6)	121 (61.4)
No	146 (42.6)	86 (58.9)	60 (41.1)
Parity
Para 1–2	91 (26.5)	87 (95.6)	4 (4.4)
Para 3–5	158 (46.1)	63 (39.9)	95 (60.1)
Para 5 and above	94 (27.4)	12 (12.8)	82 (87.2)
Caregiver’s education level
None	119 (34.7)	69 (58.0)	50 (42.0)
Primary level	87 (25.4)	38 (43.7)	49 (56.3)
Secondary level	62 (18.1)	33 (53.2)	29 (46.8)
Postsecondary	75 (21.9)	22 (29.3)	53 (70.7)
Average household income (Ugandan Shillings) per year
Below 200,000	198 (57.7)	107 (54.0)	91(46.0)
200,001–500,000	106 (30.9)	41 (38.7)	65 (61.3)
500,001–1,000,000	35 (10.2)	14 (40.0)	21 (60.0)
Above 1,000,000	4 (1.2)	0 (0.0)	4 (100.0)
Daily frequency of feeding
At least 2 meals	268 (78.1)	127 (47.4)	141 (52.6)
More than 2 meals	75 (21.9)	35 (46.7)	40 (53.3)
Monthly frequency of complementary foods
None	87 (25.4)	48 (55.2)	39 (44.8)
At least twice a month	173 (50.4)	106 (61.3)	67 (38.7)
Above twice a month	83 (24.2)	8 (9.6)	75 (90.4)
History of chronic illness
Yes	61 (17.8)	16 (26.2)	45 (73.8)
No	282 (82.2)	146 (51.8)	136 (48.2)

Note: 3,700 Ugandan Shilling is an equivalent of 1 USD.

Figure 1 A bar graph showing the severity of anemia among children under 5 years of age.

Abbreviation: Hb, hemoglobin.

Table 2 Univariate logistic analysis of risk factors toward causation of anemia among children under 5 years of age

Variables	OR (95% CI)	P-value
Gender
Males	1.00
Females	1.72 (1.13–2.98)	0.981
Age (months)
Under 11	1.00
12–23	1.35 (0.92–1.18)	0.559
24–35	1.18 (0.74–1.58)	0.604
36–47	1.41 (0.82–2.47)	0.781
>48	2.23 (1.61–3.28)	0.539
Knowledge of anemia
Yes	1.00	0.726
No	1.66 (1.22–4.18)
Parity
Para 1–2	1.00	0.183
Para 3–5	2.61 (1.72–3.24)	0.604
Para 5 and above	1.91 (1.42–3.17)	0.738
Guardian’s education level
None	1.00	0.322
Primary level	2.81 (2.10–3.74)	0.609
Secondary level	2.44 (2.16–4.69)	0.361
Postsecondary	1.61 (1.18–2.84)	0.401
Average household income (Ugandan Shillings) a year
Below 200,000	1.00
200,001–500,000	2.84 (2.46–3.38)	0.033*
500,001–1,000,000	1.91 (1.32–2.85)	0.014*
Above 1,000,000	2.62 (2.26–3.41)	0.041*
Frequency of feeding (day)
More than 2 meals	1.00	0.659
At least 2 meals	1.26 (0.71–2.14)
Frequency of complementary foods
Above two times a month	1.00	0.041*
At least twice a month	2.68 (1.83–3.19)	0.009*
None	4.13 (2.74–5.68)
History of chronic illness
No	1.00	0.027*
Yes	5.13 (3.13–6.42)
Infestation with Plasmodium species and intestinal parasites
No	1.00	0.012*
Yes	3.43 (2.88–5.14)

Note:

* Statistically significant values; 1.00 denotes a reference population.

Table 3 Results of multivariate logistic regression analysis of the risk factors of acquiring anemia

Variables	OR (95% CI)	P-value
Average household income (Ugandan Shillings) a year
Below 200,000	6.10 (4.11–8.32)	<0.01*
200,001–500,000	4.91 (3.67–6.15)	0.059
500,001–1,000,000	2.71 (2.46–3.81)	0.077
Above 1,000,000	1.00
Frequency of feeding (day)
More than 2 meals	1.00	0.068
At least 2 meals	2.2 (1.41–2.90)
Frequency of complementary foods
Above two times a month	1.00
At least twice a month	2.68 (1.83–3.19)	0.041*
None	4.13 (2.74–5.68)	0.013*
History of chronic illness
No	1.00
Yes	6.01 (3.82–6.75)	0.017*
Infection with Plasmodium species and intestinal parasites
No	1.00	<0.01*
Yes	4.51 (2.92–5.17)

Note: −2 Log likelihood 143.939; Cox and Snell R² 0.149; Nagelkerke R² 0.200; 1.0 denotes referent category.

* Statistically significant values.

StevensGAFinucaneMMDe-RegilLMGlobal, regional, and national trends in haemoglobin concentration and prevalence of total and severe anaemia in children and pregnant and non-pregnant women for 1995–2011: a systematic analysis of population-representative dataLancet Glob Health201311e16e2525103581

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