Prevalence of iron deficiency and its associated risk factors among primary school children in Kelantan

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common micronutrient deficiency that may leads to serious health problems such as poor behavior, cognitive and motor development in children. The main objective of the study was to investigate prevalence of IDA and its associated risk factors of school children. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 249 Malay primary school children (122 males and 127 females), aged 7-9 years old. Venous blood sample was drawn for hemoglobin and serum ferritin analysis. Results revealed that the prevalence of iron deficiency without anemia was 12.6% and 7.7% of the children was found to have iron deficiency anemia. Result showed that birth weight, household size, height, weight and BMI was correlated significantly with iron deficiency based on serum ferritin concentration.Keywords: iron deficiency anemia; school children; hemoglobin; serum ferritin analysi