title: Anaemia, iron deficiency and vitamin A status among school-aged children in rural Kazakhstan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the prevalence of anaemia and iron deficiency and vitamin A status among school-aged children in rural Kazakhstan and identify factors associated with anaemia in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional design.
  
  
  METHODS
  School-aged children in rural Kazakhstan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Socio-economic and anthropometric information was collected from 159 school-aged children living in the Kzyl-Orda region of Kazakhstan. Blood samples were collected and the concentrations of haemoglobin (Hb), serum iron, serum ferritin (SF), erythrocyte protoporphyrin (EP), serum retinol and beta-carotene, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin saturation (TS) and other haematological indices were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 159 children, the prevalence of anaemia and iron deficiency defined by the multiple criteria model (SF, TS and EP) was 27% and 13%, respectively. Nine per cent had iron-deficiency anaemia and 21% had serum retinol value < 1.05 micromol l(-1). Mean SF and serum iron concentrations and TS were significantly lower in anaemic children than in their non-anaemic peers, while TIBC and EP were significantly higher in children with anaemia. Hb was significantly correlated with serum iron and retinol concentrations. Serum retinol and SF concentrations and mean corpuscular volume were significantly correlated with Hb by multiple regression analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anaemia among school-aged children in rural Kazakhstan appears to be related to iron indices and vitamin A status.
authors.affiliation: Department of International Community Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. masahiro.hashizume@lshtm.ac.uk
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashizume
authors.forename: Momoko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.forename: Shigehiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwabuchi
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Taeko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimoda
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kunii
authors.forename: Wathan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Caypil
authors.forename: Damir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dauletbaev
authors.forename: Akmaral
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alnazarova
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000886:Anthropometry; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D007623:Kazakhstan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012424:Rural Population; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A; D007501:Iron