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Prevalence and Determinants of Anemia and Iron Deficiency in Kuwait

2015; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 12; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/ijerph120809036

1661-7827

Sameer Al Zenki, Husam Alomirah, Suad Al Hooti, Nawal Al Hamad, Robert T. Jackson, Aravinda Rao, Nasser Al Jahmah, Ina’am Al Obaid, Jameela Al Ghanim, Mona Al Somaie, Sahar Zaghloul, Amani Al Othman,

Hemoglobinopathies and Related Disorders

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency (ID) of a nationally representative sample of the Kuwait population. We also determined if anemia differed by socioeconomic status or by RBC folate and vitamins A and B12 levels. The subjects who were made up of 1830 males and females between the ages of 2 months to 86 years, were divided into the following age groups (0-5, 5-11, 12-14, 15-19, 20-49, ≥50 years). Results showed that the prevalence of anemia was 3% in adult males and 17% in females. The prevalence of ID varied according to age between 4% (≥50 years) and 21% (5-11 years) and 9% (12-14 years) and 23% (15-19 years), respectively, in males and females. The prevalence of anemia and ID was higher in females compared to males. Adults with normal ferritin level, but with low RBC folate and vitamins A and B12 levels had higher prevalence of anemia than those with normal RBC folate and vitamins A and B12 levels. This first nationally representative nutrition and health survey in Kuwait indicated that anemia and ID are prevalent and ID contributes significantly to anemia prevalence.