High anemia prevalence in western China.
We assessed the prevalence of anemia among schoolchildren in western China as determined by seven cross-sectional surveys involving 12,768 children aged 8-12 years. Subjects were selected randomly from 283 primary schools in 41 economically disadvantaged counties of Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi and Sichuan Provinces. Data were collected through questionnaires and hemoglobin levels were measured. The anemia prevalence was 34% using the WHO hemoglobin cutoff of < 120 g/l. Boarding students and girls were more likely to be anemic. The prevalence of anemia in schoolchildren was high. Iron deficiency is a significant nutrition issue in China.
Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy (CCAP), Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), PR China.
Renfu
R
Luo
Xiaobing
X
Wang
Linxiu
L
Zhang
Chengfang
C
Liu
Yaojiang
Y
Shi
Grant
G
Miller
Scott
S
Rozelle
Elaine
E
Yu
Reynaldo
R
Martorell
D000740:Anemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015995:Prevalence; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D006454:Hemoglobins