Raw hematological data of children 6-59 months who visited Hawassa University Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital

Anemia is still a significant public health problem in Africa including Ethiopia. It has multifaceted causes from nutritional deficiency and infections to autoimmune diseases to genetic factors. Iron deficiency (ID) is the leading cause of anemia and is estimated to contribute to 42% of cases in children aged under five years [1]. In its most recent nutritional anemias prevention and control tool, World Health Organization acknowledged the proportion of anemia attributable to ID could be lower than the previously assumed 50% [2]. A national micronutrient survey in Ethiopia reported that iron deficiency anemia (IDA) accounts for 35.8% of anemia cases using sTfR (soluble serum transferrin receptor) among preschool age (6 - 59 months) children [3]. There are other important causes of anemia among preschool and school-age children including folate and vitamin B12 deficiency, acute and chronic infection/inflammation and parasitic infestation. However, evidence on the types of anemia (other than iron deficiency) that contribute to the remaining large portion is not well established. This dataset tries to determine the magnitude and types of anemia in relation to age based on red blood cell (RBC) morphology among 6-59 months old children who visited Hawassa University Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital (HUCRH). Electronic hematological records of all children 6-59 months who visited Hawassa University Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital (HUCRH) for health service and medical care between May 2017 to May 2019 were retrieved from the hospital laboratory. The hematological data retrieved included age, sex and town/city of residence and results of Complete Blood Count (CBC) tests including hemoglobin, hematocrit, RBC count and RBC indices (mean corpuscular volume [MCV], mean corpuscular hemoglobin [MCH] and red cell distribution width [RDW]. HUCRH used CELL-DYN Ruby, SYSMEX and Mindray hematology analyzers to carry out CBC tests. As per WHO guideline, hemoglobin (Hgb) values were adjusted for altitude and anemia was defined as hemoglobin values of < 11.0g/dl. Severity of anemia was categorized as mild, moderate and severe by hemoglobin levels of 10-10.9g/dl, 7-9.9 g/dl and <7 g/dl respectively. Red blood cell indices used to classify anemia were MCV, MCH and RDW. In this dataset, iron deficiency anemia is defined as microcytic (low MCV) and hypochromic (low MCH) anemia with high red cell distribution width (RDW).

贫血仍是包括埃塞俄比亚在内的非洲地区亟待解决的重大公共卫生问题。其病因复杂多元，涵盖营养缺乏、感染、自身免疫性疾病乃至遗传因素等多个范畴。铁缺乏（Iron deficiency, ID）是贫血的首要致病因素，据估算，5岁以下儿童中42%的贫血病例由其引发[1]。世界卫生组织在其最新发布的营养性贫血防控工具中明确指出，铁缺乏所致贫血的占比或低于此前假定的50%[2]。埃塞俄比亚全国微量营养素调查显示，采用可溶性转铁蛋白受体（soluble serum transferrin receptor, sTfR）进行检测时，学龄前（6~59月龄）儿童的缺铁性贫血（iron deficiency anemia, IDA）占贫血总病例的35.8%[3]。学龄前及学龄期儿童的贫血还存在其他重要病因，包括叶酸与维生素B12缺乏、急慢性感染/炎症以及寄生虫侵染。然而，针对除缺铁性贫血外的其他贫血类型在剩余大量贫血病例中的贡献度，目前尚未形成充分明确的证据。本数据集旨在探究2017年5月至2019年5月期间，前往哈瓦萨大学综合专科医院（HUCRH）就诊的6~59月龄儿童中，基于红细胞形态学的贫血类型与患病规模及其与年龄的关联。研究人员从该医院实验室调取了同期所有因医疗服务与诊疗前往该院的6~59月龄儿童的电子血液学记录，提取的数据包括年龄、性别、居住城镇，以及全血细胞计数（Complete Blood Count, CBC）检测结果：血红蛋白、血细胞比容、红细胞计数，以及红细胞指数：平均红细胞体积（mean corpuscular volume, MCV）、平均红细胞血红蛋白量（mean corpuscular hemoglobin, MCH）与红细胞分布宽度（red cell distribution width, RDW）。哈瓦萨大学综合专科医院使用CELL-DYN Ruby、SYSMEX及迈瑞（Mindray）血液分析仪开展全血细胞计数检测。依据世界卫生组织指南，需对血红蛋白（hemoglobin, Hgb）值进行海拔校正，贫血的判定标准为血红蛋白浓度<11.0g/dl。贫血严重程度依据血红蛋白水平划分为三级：轻度（10~10.9g/dl）、中度（7~9.9g/dl）与重度（<7g/dl）。用于贫血分型的红细胞指数包括MCV、MCH与RDW。本数据集中，缺铁性贫血被定义为伴随高红细胞分布宽度（RDW）的小细胞低色素性贫血，即平均红细胞体积（MCV）降低且平均红细胞血红蛋白量（MCH）降低。