Prevalence and correlates of anemia among children aged 6-23 months in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract Background Anemia, the world’s most common micro-nutrient deficiency disorder, can affect a person at any time and at all stages of life, although children aged 6 -23 months are particularly at higher risk. If left untreated, it adversely affects the health, cognitive development, school achievement, and work performance. However, littlewas investigated among young children in Sub-Saharan countries including Ethiopia. This research aimed to investigate its magnitude and correlates to address the gap and guide design of evidence based intervention. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May -June 2016 in rural districts of Wolaita Zone. Multi-stage sampling technique was applied to select 990 mother-child pairs. Socio-demography, health and nutritional characteristics were collected by administering interview type questionnaire to mothers/care-givers. Blood samples were taken to diagnose anemia by using HemoCue device, and status was determined using cut-offs used for children aged 6-59 months. Hemoglobin concentration below 11.0 g/dl was considered anemic. Data were analyzed with Statav 14. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions were applied to identify candidate and predictor variables respectively. Statistical significance was determined at p-value < 0.05 at 95% confidence interval. Results The mean hemoglobin level of children was 10.44±1.3g/dl, and 65.7% of them were anemic. Among anemic children, 0.4% were severely anemic (<7.0g/dl), while 28.1% and 37.2% were mildly (10.0-10.9g/dl) and moderately (7.0-9.9g/dl) anemic, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, having maternal age of 35 years and above (AOR=1.96), being government employee (AOR=0.29),being merchant (AOR= 0.43) and ‘other’ occupation (AOR=3.17) were correlated with anemia in children in rural Wolaita. Similarly, receiving antihelminthic drugs (AOR= 0.39), being female child (AOR= 1.76), consuming poor dietary diversity (AOR=1.40), and having moderate household food insecurity (AOR=1.72) were associated with anemia in rural Wolaita. Conclusion A large majority of children in the rural Wolaita were anemic and the need for proven public health interventions such as food diversification, provision of anti-helminthic drugs and ensuring household food security is crucial. In addition, educating women on nutrition and diet diversification, as well as helping them with alternative sources of income might be interventions in the study area.