title: Effect of moderate anaemia on later mortality in rural African children.
abstract: Severe anaemia in childhood is associated with increased mortality, although evidence relating moderate anaemia to child survival is scarce. We aimed to investigate this association. We did a case-control study of children with moderate anaemia, and compared haemoglobin concentrations measured up to a year before death for 403 children (age range 28 days to 15 years) with those from children who survived (matched for age and sex). Data were obtained from long-term health records (1950-97) of a rural Gambian research centre. Excluding an acute effect in this last week of life, no evidence was recorded of lower haemoglobin concentrations in the children who died than in survivors, or of any general or disease-specific effects of non-severe anaemia (70-110 g/L) on mortality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, St George's Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK. h.ghattas@sghms.ac.uk
authors.forename: Hala
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ghattas
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fulford
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prentice
mesh_terms: D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012423:Rural Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins