,
Respicious Christopher Bakalemwa,
Ndakibae Gabriel Mabega,
Benson Richard Kidenya
Background: It is estimated that, in Tanzania 11percent of babies are born prematurely each year. Preterm delivered infants are more prone to iron deficiency because most of mother to child iron transfer occurs in the third trimester. Methods: This was a hospital based cross sectional study, conducted in five selected health facilities in Mwanza city. Three hundred and fifty preterm delivered infants aged 6 to 30 weeks were included in the study. Participants’ information was obtained by using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. To determine body iron level, blood was collected to measure serum ferritin, full blood picture and C reactive protein. Results: In every 100 infants, 20 had low iron levels, 1 had latent iron deficiency, 3 had iron deficiency and 9 had iron deficiency anemia. Increase in infant’s age and complementary feeding with cow’s milk were significantly associated with iron deficiency anemia. In addition, hemoglobin level and mean corpuscular volume in combination is not a good alternative of serum ferritin in diagnosing low iron. Recommendations: Food fortification with iron and iron supplementation among preterm delivered infants are needed to prevent iron deficiency among these infants. Further studies to determine why older preterm delivered infants are more prone to iron deficiency anemia including type of food they eat are needed. Hemoglobin level and mean corpuscular volume can be used to rule out those without low iron but not to diagnose those with low iron level.
| Published in | European Journal of Preventive Medicine (Volume 12, Issue 5) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ejpm.20241205.11 |
| Page(s) | 111-120 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Iron Levels, Hemoglobin Levels, Infants, Preterm Birth
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APA Style
Machangu, N. S., Kayange, N. M., Bakalemwa, R. C., Mabega, N. G., Kidenya, B. R. (2024). Iron levels and Associated Factors Among Preterm Delivered Infants in Five Selected Health Facilities in Mwanza Region, Northwestern Tanzania. European Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12(5), 111-120. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20241205.11
ACS Style
Machangu, N. S.; Kayange, N. M.; Bakalemwa, R. C.; Mabega, N. G.; Kidenya, B. R. Iron levels and Associated Factors Among Preterm Delivered Infants in Five Selected Health Facilities in Mwanza Region, Northwestern Tanzania. Eur. J. Prev. Med. 2024, 12(5), 111-120. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20241205.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ejpm.20241205.11,
author = {Nakiete Samwel Machangu and Neema Mathias Kayange and Respicious Christopher Bakalemwa and Ndakibae Gabriel Mabega and Benson Richard Kidenya},
title = {Iron levels and Associated Factors Among Preterm Delivered Infants in Five Selected Health Facilities in Mwanza Region, Northwestern Tanzania
},
journal = {European Journal of Preventive Medicine},
volume = {12},
number = {5},
pages = {111-120},
doi = {10.11648/j.ejpm.20241205.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20241205.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ejpm.20241205.11},
abstract = {Background: It is estimated that, in Tanzania 11percent of babies are born prematurely each year. Preterm delivered infants are more prone to iron deficiency because most of mother to child iron transfer occurs in the third trimester. Methods: This was a hospital based cross sectional study, conducted in five selected health facilities in Mwanza city. Three hundred and fifty preterm delivered infants aged 6 to 30 weeks were included in the study. Participants’ information was obtained by using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. To determine body iron level, blood was collected to measure serum ferritin, full blood picture and C reactive protein. Results: In every 100 infants, 20 had low iron levels, 1 had latent iron deficiency, 3 had iron deficiency and 9 had iron deficiency anemia. Increase in infant’s age and complementary feeding with cow’s milk were significantly associated with iron deficiency anemia. In addition, hemoglobin level and mean corpuscular volume in combination is not a good alternative of serum ferritin in diagnosing low iron. Recommendations: Food fortification with iron and iron supplementation among preterm delivered infants are needed to prevent iron deficiency among these infants. Further studies to determine why older preterm delivered infants are more prone to iron deficiency anemia including type of food they eat are needed. Hemoglobin level and mean corpuscular volume can be used to rule out those without low iron but not to diagnose those with low iron level.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Iron levels and Associated Factors Among Preterm Delivered Infants in Five Selected Health Facilities in Mwanza Region, Northwestern Tanzania AU - Nakiete Samwel Machangu AU - Neema Mathias Kayange AU - Respicious Christopher Bakalemwa AU - Ndakibae Gabriel Mabega AU - Benson Richard Kidenya Y1 - 2024/09/20 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20241205.11 DO - 10.11648/j.ejpm.20241205.11 T2 - European Journal of Preventive Medicine JF - European Journal of Preventive Medicine JO - European Journal of Preventive Medicine SP - 111 EP - 120 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8230 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20241205.11 AB - Background: It is estimated that, in Tanzania 11percent of babies are born prematurely each year. Preterm delivered infants are more prone to iron deficiency because most of mother to child iron transfer occurs in the third trimester. Methods: This was a hospital based cross sectional study, conducted in five selected health facilities in Mwanza city. Three hundred and fifty preterm delivered infants aged 6 to 30 weeks were included in the study. Participants’ information was obtained by using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. To determine body iron level, blood was collected to measure serum ferritin, full blood picture and C reactive protein. Results: In every 100 infants, 20 had low iron levels, 1 had latent iron deficiency, 3 had iron deficiency and 9 had iron deficiency anemia. Increase in infant’s age and complementary feeding with cow’s milk were significantly associated with iron deficiency anemia. In addition, hemoglobin level and mean corpuscular volume in combination is not a good alternative of serum ferritin in diagnosing low iron. Recommendations: Food fortification with iron and iron supplementation among preterm delivered infants are needed to prevent iron deficiency among these infants. Further studies to determine why older preterm delivered infants are more prone to iron deficiency anemia including type of food they eat are needed. Hemoglobin level and mean corpuscular volume can be used to rule out those without low iron but not to diagnose those with low iron level. VL - 12 IS - 5 ER -
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Sekou Touré Regional Referral Hospital, Mwanza, United Republic of Tanzania
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences, Mwanza, United Republic of Tanzania
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences, Mwanza, United Republic of Tanzania
Department of Clinical Research, National Institute for Medical Research, Mwanza Research Centre, Mwanza, Republic of Tanzania
Department of Biochemistry, Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences, Mwanza, United Republic of Tanzania
