Keywords:
Anemia, preschool children, dietary habits, hemoglobin, dietary variety, child nutrition
Abstract
Childhood anemia is a crucial issue related to nutrition and public health. At the same time, there is a need to clarify the link between anemia prevalence and dietary habits without confusing it with low hemoglobin levels. The current paper offers a framework of a cross-sectional study in a community to evaluate the prevalence of anemia among children aged 24–59 months. The simulation contains 300 children diagnosed with anemia according to the World Health Organization guidelines in 2024: hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dL. Dietary assessment includes caregiver-administered 24-hour recall and food-frequency questionnaire for seven days. Anemia is diagnosed in 174 children, which constitutes 58.0% (95% confidence interval: 52.3%–63.4%) of the study group. Mild, moderate, and severe anemia constitute 32.0%, 24.0%, and 2.0% of the total number of participants, respectively. The prevalence of anemia in case of low dietary variety is 70.0% and 40.0% in case of high dietary variety, and the unadjusted prevalence ratio is 1.75 (95% confidence interval: 1.38–2.22). Moreover, children with anemia report lower consumption of pulses and foods rich in vitamin C. These simulated associations illustrate the reporting framework that needs further data to draw conclusions.
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How to cite
Dr Sayali Jichkar (2026). Prevalence of Anemia and Dietary Habits Among Preschool Children. International Journal for Research in Management & Pharmacy, 15(11), 30-35.
Licence
This article is open access, published under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Copyright remains with the authors.