Prevalence and causes of anaemia in children aged 6–23 months in rural Qinghai, China: findings from a cross-sectional study

Objective To investigate the current situation of anaemia among
children aged 6–23 months in a rural county in China, and to explore the
influencing factors and the main causes of anaemia. Design A
cross-sectional study. Setting Huzhu County in Qinghai Province,
China Participants We selected 38 sampled villages using
Proportional to Population Size sampling method. We obtained the name list
of children aged 6–23 months in each sampled village and planned to survey
all the eligible children aged 6–23 months and their caregivers. Primary
and secondary outcomes measures The prevalence of anaemia, the
influencing factors of anaemia, the laboratory tests for biological causes
of anaemia, including serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor, folic
acid, homocysteine and vitamin B12. Results A total of 754
children aged 6–23 months and their caregivers were surveyed, and 183
anaemic children aged 12–23 months were collected venous blood sample. The
anaemia prevalence of children aged 6–23 months in Huzhu County was 59.1%.
Children of younger age (OR=0.968, 95% CI 0.940 to 0.998), Tibetan
nationality (OR=3.123, 95% CI 1.473 to 6.623) and not introducing meat
(OR=0.698, 95% CI 0.499 to 0.976) were more likely to be anaemic. More
than 80% of children with anaemia were due to iron deficiency (ID), and
20.2% of them had both iron and folic acid deficiencies.
Conclusions The anaemia prevalence of children aged 6–23 months
in Huzhu County was high and children of younger age, Tibetan nationality
and not introducing meat were more likely to be anaemic. The main cause of
anaemia was nutritional anaemia, with the vast majority being ID.
Interventions of feeding counselling and nutrients supplements are
appropriate and should be further strengthened. Trial registration
number ChiCTRPRC12002444.