20.Correlation Between Iron Deficiency Anemia and Intestinal Parasitic Infection in School-Age Children in Peshawar
Aysha Sarwar Khan1, Shaista Alam2, Iftikhar Hussain4, Hafsa Sarwar Khan4 and Ambreen Ali3
ABSTRACT
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether iron deficiency anemia and intestinal parasitic infections in school aged children are correlated or not.
Study Design: Cross-Sectional Study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at Peshawar Institute of Medical Sciences, from March 2019 to March 2020.
Materials and Methods: The total of 130 samples were included in this study by using consecutive sampling technique. The samples were collected from the middle school children aged from 8 to 12. The children who were willing were included in this study after taking permission from their parents. Another criteria for the sampling of this study was that the children should not have taken any antiparasitic medication for at least past six months. The blood and stool samples were taken to analyze peripheral blood smear, serum ferritin and intestinal parasites. The data was analyzed using univariate and bivariate analysis method (ANOVA test). The occurrence of anemia due to different species of intestinal parasite was also figured out. The Chi-Square test was performed to find out the correlation between iron deficiency anemia and some variables like mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and serum ferritin.
Results: The results showed that the occurrence of iron deficiency anemia was almost 28 percent. The percentage of intestinal parasitic infections was 26.7. Seven types of parasites were identified in infected participants. Entamoeba histolytica was the most prevalent parasite while Hymenolepis nana was the least prevalent. The blood results of almost 37 percent of the participants with intestinal infections showed either lowered red blood cell count or lowered hemoglobin concentration. The participants infected with Escherichia coli had the highest percentage of anemia; almost 48.7 percent. Participants with Hymenolepis nana showed the least number of anemic patients, 21 percent. The Chi-Square test showed significant correlation of MCV, MCH and serum ferritin with anemia.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, there is positive correlation between iron deficiency anemia and intestinal parasitic infections. 37 percent of the participants which were infected by intestinal parasite had anemia. This proves that intestinal parasitic infections do cause anemia. Escherichia coli caused the highest percentage of anemia in participants. Also, the occurrence of intestinal parasitic infections was high in children generally. Entamoeba histolytica is one of the most common intestinal parasite. This needs to be taken care of as parasitic infections can affect the life of children in a number of ways other than just causing anemia and can pave the way for other diseases too. Preventive and hygienic measures should be promoted among children by the collective effort of parents and teachers to stop the development and spread of such infections.
Key Words: Iron Deficiency Anemia, Intestinal Parasitic Infections, Children, Serum Ferritin, MCV, MCH.
Citation of article: Khan AS, Alam S, Hussain I, Khan HS, Ali A. Correlation Between Iron Deficiency Anemia and Intestinal Parasitic Infection in School-Age Children in Peshawar. Med Forum 2021;32(7):88-92.