Early Detection of Pediatric Anemia in Low-Resource Settings: Evidence from Uzbekistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51699/cajitmf.v7i2.1259Keywords:
Childhood anemia, early diagnosis, resource poor settings, hemoglobin measurement, child health, malnutrition, Uzbekistan, primary health careAbstract
Anaemia is a common but often overlooked condition among children in resource-limited settings, where diagnostic capabilities and screening practices are often limited. The researchers sought to assess early detection strategies for childhood anaemia in a number of health care settings in Uzbekistan, focusing on the use of simple diagnostic methods. We used an analytical cross-sectional approach, surveying 120 children between 6 months and 14 years who visited primary health care facilities for non-serious conditions or for routine check-ups. Children underwent medical and anthropometric examinations, parental interviews, and haemoglobin tests using portable analysers to detect anaemia and potential risk factors. Results showed 38.3% of the children studied had haemoglobin concentrations below age-specific cut-offs, suggesting a high prevalence of anaemia in the population. Early childhood (children below five years) was identified as a high-risk period with the highest prevalence. Lack of adequate dietary intake of iron-rich foods was found to be a key risk factor, with socioeconomic status and low dietary diversity also playing a role in disease occurrence. Notably, many cases of anaemia were only detected by portable haemoglobin measurement and not by clinical signs. These findings highlight that the detection of anaemia based on clinical signs alone is not sufficient to detect early anaemia, particularly in mild and asymptomatic patients. The use of low-cost point-of-care diagnostic technologies in child health services can greatly increase early detection rates in low-resource settings.
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