Open AccessPrevalence and risk factors of anemia and zinc deficiency among 4–6-year-old children of Allahabad District, Uttar Pradesh
Author(s) -
Urvashi Sharma,
Neelam Yadav
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
indian journal of public health/indian journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.381
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 2229-7693
pISSN - 0019-557X
DOI - 10.4103/ijph.ijph_342_17
Subject(s) - micronutrient , anthropometry , medicine , malnutrition , anemia , zinc deficiency (plant disorder) , micronutrient deficiency , iron deficiency , pediatrics , environmental health , zinc , nutritional deficiency , uttar pradesh , socioeconomics , pathology , materials science , sociology , metallurgy
Anemia and zinc deficiency are two of the most daunting nutritional problems afflicting the young children among developing countries like India. Thus, in view of this the following study was designed to investigate the status of undernutrition and micronutrient status (iron and zinc) of children aged between 4 and 6 years of Allahabad district. The anthropometric measurements (height and weight); biochemical parameters (hemoglobin and serum zinc), and general information of the children were recorded. Out of the total 365 children studied, 92.9% were anemic out of which 90.6% (n = 307) were moderately anemic having and 2.3% belonged to mild anemic group. Serum zinc deficiency was 65.3%. Anemia was more commonly observed among undernourished children. In case of zinc deficiency poor nutritional status, the age of 60-71 months and rural settlement projected out to be the potent risk factors.