Anemia among Children Aged 1 month -12 Years at Al-Wahda Hospital, Derna-Libya

Anemia is one of the main public health issues among children in the world. The causes of anemia are multifactorial, but iron deficiency is the most common one. There are direct proportions between iron and body mass. The paper aimed at determining anemia prevalence in children aged 1-144 months in Al-wahda Hospital in Derna city during the first quarter of 2017, as well as determining the type of anemia. A sample of 129 children aged 1-144 M was tested for hemoglobin levels to diagnose anemia. Mean corporal values were measured to determine the type of anemia, and data were collected based on independent variables such as age and sex. The frequency was created, and comparisons were tested using chi-square. Anemia prevalence of overall sample was 65.11%. It was significantly higher in children aged (1-3 months) than those aged (4-6 months), and (7-144 months) (p =.001). Significant differences were found in anemia prevalence among boys and girls, where prevalence was higher in girls than in boys (P=.008). Prevalence of Microcytic hypochromic anemia was higher (69.4 %) compared to Normocytic normochromic (28.57%), and Macrocytic hyperchromic anemia (2.38%). Prevalence of anemia of the overall sample is considered as sever based on World Health Organization anemia classification. In addition, increased anemia prevalence in children less than 3 months shud be taken care of the Libyan government to prevent and control anemia in pregnant women. The high prevalence of Microcytic hypochromic in the overall sample was observed. Further estimation of iron and ferritin should do, and further evalution is needed to identify the causes of anemia in children under 12 years.