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Anemia in African malnourished pre-school children: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Melak Aynalem1, Elias Shiferaw1, Tiruneh Adane1
1Department of Hematology and Immunohematology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Insights
Anemia is highly prevalent in African preschool children, affecting over 57%. This study highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions to combat anemia and its complications in this vulnerable population.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Accurate epidemiological data on childhood anemia is crucial for health policy.
- Malnutrition is a significant risk factor for anemia in preschool children.
- Understanding the magnitude of anemia in African malnourished children is a public health priority.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize the overall magnitude of anemia in African malnourished preschool children.
- To provide an updated prevalence estimate of anemia in this specific demographic.
- To inform public health strategies for anemia prevention and management.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies.
- Searched multiple databases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar.
- Assessed study quality using Joana Brigg's Institute tool and analyzed data using random-effects models, subgroup analysis, and publication bias tests.
Main Results:
- Fifteen articles comprising 12,211 participants were included.
- The pooled prevalence of anemia was 57.53% (95% CI: 47.05, 68.01) among African malnourished preschool children.
- Anemia prevalence was similar across different diagnostic methods (HemoCue: 58.52%, Auto-machine: 56.18%).
Conclusions:
- Anemia is highly prevalent in malnourished preschool children in Africa.
- The findings underscore the urgent need for effective preventive measures and interventions.
- Addressing anemia is critical to reduce its associated complications in African children.
Abstract:
Generating accurate epidemiological data on the magnitude of anemia in malnourished children is a vital step for health policymakers. Therefore, this study is aimed to synthesize the overall magnitude of anemia in African malnourished pre-school children. We have searched the databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Google to identify relevant articles. Joana Brigg's Institute critical appraisal tool was used to assess the quality of articles. A random-effects model was applied to estimate the pooled prevalence of anemia in malnourished children. The I2 statistics were used to examine heterogeneity among the included studies. In the presence of heterogeneity, a subgroup analysis has been used. The funnel plot analysis and Egger's tests were used to investigate the presence of publication bias. A total of 15 articles with 12,211 study participants were included in this study. Anemia was observed in 57.53% (95% CI: 47.05, 68.01) of African malnourished pre-school children. Moreover, the prevalence of anemia was 58.52% (95% CI: 43.04, 73.81) and 56.18% (95% CI: 40.24, 72.13) in HemoCue and auto-machine diagnosis method of anemia, respectively. This review showed that the magnitude of anemia was high among African malnourished pre-school children. Therefore, planning preventive measures to decrease anemia and its complications in malnourished children in Africa is an important step.
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