Aqeela Ayub, Muhammad Khalid Masood, Riffat Omer, Khaula Bint-e Mansoor, Hashim Raza, Iqra Waheed.
Childhood Iron Deficiency Anemia, a Common Problem Due to Inadequate Weaning Practices.
Pak Paed J Jan ;43(4):255-9.

Objective: To determine the effect of inadequate weaning practices in development of iron deficiency anemia in a developing country like Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pediatrics, PIMS Hospital from November 2016 to April 2017. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in department of Pediatrics, PIMS Islamabad in which a total of 56 children presenting with pallor were included. All the children of both genders were taken randomly. Children with other chronic diseases and co-morbidities were excluded from the study. The dietary habit/preference of children was reviewed along with hematological markers like Hb, TLC and Serum ferritin. The primary outcome of study was to see dietary influence on iron deficiency anemia. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Results: The mean age was observed as 4.43 +- 2.9 years. All of the children were pale, 64.3% children were boys while 35.7% were girls, 28.7% children were school going and 57.2% children belonged to families with low socio-economic status and 42.8% belonged to middle class families. The average hemoglobin level of all children was 6.8 +- 3.1 g/dl and all (100%) were anemic. The average TLC was 11800 +- 159.2 cells/mm3 and serum ferritin was 24.5 +- 9.3pmol/L. Conclusion: This study concludes that iron deficiency anemia is strongly related to the diet of child and ignorance about weaning and poor weaning is a primary cause of iron deficiency anemia in children.

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