Etiology of Anemia among Syrian Refugee Children Aged Between 6 Months and 18 Years

Yıl 2022, Cilt: 17 Sayı: 2, 53 - 58, 15.07.2022

Nurten Seringeç Akkeçeci , Can Acıpayam , Ömer Duyuran

https://doi.org/10.17517/ksutfd.902985

Öz

Objective: This study was planned to investigate the prevalence and etiology of anemia in Syrian refugee children.
Material and Methods: This retrospective study included all 266 Syrian refugee children aged 6 months to 18 years without any chronic disease who applied to the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology outpatient clinic of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University (KSU) between January 2015 and September 2018.
The patients were divided into 4 groups according to their age: 6 months-59 months, 5-11 years, 12-14 years, and 15-18 years. Age-specific cut-off values of hemoglobin concentrations determined by the World Health Organization to define and classify anemia in these age groups were used.
Results: Anemia was detected in 111 (41.7%) of 266 (89 female, 177 male) Syrian refugee children included in the study. Anemia was detected 80 (54.4%) of children in the 6 months-59 months age group, 22 (29.3%) of children in the 5-11 age group, 6 (24.0%) of children in the 12-14 age group, and 3 (15.8%) of
the children in the 15-18 age group (p <0.001). The prevalence of anemia was 48.0% (n=85) among male children compared to 29.2% (n=26) among females (p=0.003). 14.4% (n=16) of the children had mild anemia, 55.9% (n=62) had moderate and 29.7% (n=33) had severe anemia (p<0.001). 64.9% of children with anemia had iron deficiency anemia (IDA), 16.2% had thalassemia minor, 8.1% had vitamin B12 deficiency, 7.2% had Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, 1.8% had hereditary spherocytosis, 0.9% had thalassemia major and 0.9% had autoimmune hemolytic anemia. The most common type of anemia was IDA (64.9%, n =72; p<0.001). 73.6% (n=53) of the children with IDA were in the 6-59 months group (p<0.001).
Conclusion: The results of this study reveal that the prevalence of anemia, especially iron deficiency anemia, is high in Syrian refugee children and it has been concluded that screening of anemia and iron supplementation should be done in these children.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Anemia, Iron deficiency anemia, Syrian refugee children

6 Ay-18 Yaş Suriyeli Mülteci Çocuklarda Anemi Etiyolojisi

Öz

Amaç: Bu çalışma Suriyeli mülteci çocuklarda anemi prevalansını ve etiyolojisini araştırmak amacıyla planlanmıştır.
Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu retrospektif çalışmaya, Ocak 2015-Eylül 2018 tarihleri arasında Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi (KSÜ) Pediatrik Hematoloji ve Onkoloji polikliniğine başvuran, herhangi bir kronik hastalığı olmayan 6 ay-18 yaş arası 266 Suriyeli mülteci çocuk dahil edildi. Hastalar yaşlarına göre
6 ay-59 ay, 5-11 yaş, 12-14 yaş ve 15-18 yaş olmak üzere 4 gruba ayrıldı. Dünya sağlık örgütünün bu yaş gruplarında anemiyi tanımlamak ve sınıflandırmak için belirlediği hemoglobin konsantrasyonlarının yaşa özel cut-off değerleri kullanıldı.
Bulgular: Çalışmaya dahil edilen 266 (89’u kız, 177’si erkek) Suriyeli mülteci çocuğun 111’inde (%41.7) anemi tespit edildi. 6 ay-59 ay yaş grubundaki çocukların 80’ninde (%54.4), 5-11 yaş grubundaki çocukların 22’sinde (%29.3), 12-14 grubundaki çocukların 6’sında (%24.0) ve 15-18 yaş grubundaki çocukların
3’ünde (%15.8) anemi tespit edildi (p<0.001). Anemi prevalansı erkek çocuklarda %48.0 (n=85) iken kız çocuklarda %29.2 (n=26) idi (p=0.003). Çocukların %14.4’ünde (n=16) hafif, %55.9’unda (n=62) orta ve %29.7’sinde (n=33) şiddetli anemi görüldü (p<0.001). Anemili çocukların %64.9’unda
demir eksikliği anemisi (DEA), %16.2’sinde talasemi minör, %8.1’inde vitamin B12 eksikliği, %7.2’sinde Glukoz-6-fosfat dehidrogenaz (G6PD) eksikliği, %1.8’inde herediter sferositoz, %0.9’unda talasemi majör ve %0.9’unda otoimmün hemolitik anemi vardı. En yaygın görülen anemi tipi DEA (%64.9, n=72;
p<0.001) idi. DEA’sı olan çocukların %73.6’sı (n=53) 6-59 ay grubunda idi (p<0.001).
Sonuç: Bu çalışmanın sonuçları Suriyeli mülteci çocuklarda anemi prevalansının özellikle de demir eksikliği anemisi prevalansının yüksek olduğunu ortaya koymuştur ve bu çocuklarda anemi taraması ve demir takviyesi yapılması gerektiği sonucuna varılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Anemi, Demir eksikliği anemisi, Suriyeli mülteci çocuk

Kaynakça

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