Investigation of the prevalence of anemia among rural children under 5 years old in Shaanxi Province

Objective To understand the prevalence of anemia in 3-month-to 5-year-old children living in rural areas of Shaanxi Province so as to provide the reference for reducing the disease. Methods We investigated 1500 households with children under 5 years old in 5 counties of Shaanxi Province using multi-stage random sampling. Database was set up and data were logically checked with Epi3.1 software. All the data were input with duplication method and analyzed with SPSS 13.0 software. Results The prevalence of anemia in children aged 3 months to 5 years was 32.0% in the 5 counties, with significant differences among counties with the highest in Pucheng (32.3%) and the lowest in Jiaxian (16.1%). The prevalence of anemia in children was relatively high in 6 and 15 months of age after birth, but declined when children grew older. The main type was mild anemia. The prevalence of anemia did not differ significantly between different genders. However, the weight and height of children with anemia were significantly lower than those of the normal children; the prevalence of anemia differed significantly between different feeding patterns. Conclusion The prevalence of anemia in children under the age of five is relatively high in rural villages of Shaanxi Province with primarily mild anemia. Interventions such as changing the feeding pattern and popularizing knowledge of appropriate feeding would decrease the prevalence of anemia in local children.