Prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia Among School Children in Tobruk City, Libya

Anemia continued to become a major public health problem in developing nations includingLibya. Especially, school children are more vulnerable for anemia and consequences of anemia Both Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia have considerable adverse effect on human health. Among the different negative health concerns, including stunt development, less developed immunity, lower IQ level, no proper physical work capacity, more fatigue The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in school-going children. Our study sample was consisting of 366 school age children from (6-14) years of both genders. The blood samples were collected in EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) tubes from four different health serves centers in Tobruk by trained and veteran persons. Questionnaires were utilized for the data collection, at the time of blood samples collection. Hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), white blood cell and red blood cell (RBC) were determine by automatic hematological analyzer model.  Results: Of the 366 screened school children 51.0% males and 48.0% females, were anemic (Hb<12 g/dl) 104 males (54.7%) and 120 females (57.9%). 25% females and 40% males were having Iron deficiency anemia (Hb<12 g/dl & serum ferritin<15 ng/ml). The percentage significant different between males and females in prevalence of IDA.  The percentage of anemic children was also high (42%) in age group of 6 - 7years. Pale skin was the most common symptom of anemia. This study found that prevalence of anemia was a moderate public health problem in school children. Due to the complications of anemia for school children, preventative planning and control of anemia among school children in Libya is necessary.