Haemoglobin

Anaemia being a condition of low levels of haemoglobin in the blood is a public health problem that affects approximately 1.3 to 2.2 billion people worldwide. Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anaemia and its association with anthropometric measurements among school children in Delta State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study was a pretest-postest study of 201 primary school (age 6-12 years) and secondary school (age 13-19 years) respondents randomly selected from primary and secondary schools in the three senatorial districts of Delta State. Eighty-three (41.3%) males and 118 (58.7%) females with a mean age of $12.30\pm3.14$ years were enrolled in the study. The preventive intervention protocol consisted of a single dose of vitamin A, daily vitamin C, weekly vitamin E, and twice weekly ferrous sulphate supplements administered for five weeks. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data were collected. Assessment of anaemia was done by pretest-postest haemoglobin determination. Results: The prevalence of anaemia at baseline was 38.3% and 0% post-intervention. The prevalence of stunting, underweight, and thinness at baseline were 7.0%, 14.3% and 15.0%, respectively, and post-intervention were 5.5%, 8.7% and 8.5%, respectively. The prevalence of overweight at baseline and post-intervention was 5.0%. The correlation between anaemia and underweight was $r = -0.399$, $p = 0.005$. The correlation between anaemia and body mass index was $r = -0.234$, $p < 0.001$. Conclusion: Nutritional deficiency could cause anaemia among school children. However, intake of antioxidant vitamins and iron might help to reduce the burden.

The eyes like every other organ of the body, are biochemical elements that respond to both helpful or harmful biochemical stimuli leading to either a healthy or pathological state. Anaemia, antioxidant vitamin deficiencies and visual impairment (VI) are public health problems resulting in poor eye health globally. This study aimed to determine the relationship among anaemia, antioxidant vitamins and VI as well as the effect of antioxidant vitamins and iron supplements on visual acuity and anaemia. A pretest-posttest study of 201 respondents randomly selected from primary and secondary schools in three senatorial districts of Delta State, Nigeria. Sociodemographic data and visual acuity tests were done before and after intervention. Preventive intervention with a single dose of vitamin A, daily Vitamin C, weekly vitamin E, and twice weekly ferrous sulphate supplements was administered for five weeks. Spectacle prescriptions were administered to correct refractive errors (RE). Pretest-posttest haemoglobin and serum vitamins ACE were done using JENWAY 6320D Spectrophotometer. Data were analysed using SPSS version 28.0. Statistical significance was defined as P< 0.05. Findings showed that 83 (41.3%) were males and 118 (58.7%) were females with a mean age of 12.30± 3.14 years. Prevalence of anaemia and VI at baseline was 38.3% and 28.9% respectively, and 0% and 5.5% post-intervention respectively. Prevalence of vitamins A and C at baseline was 12.4% and 12.9% respectively, and post-intervention was 6.0% and 15.9% respectively. Prevalence of vitamin E at baseline and post-intervention was 0.0% respectively. RE was the major cause of VI with a prevalence of 23.4%. The association between visual impairment at baseline and impaired vision with spectacle prescription intervention was statistically significant (P=0.001). The correlation of anaemia, vitamins ACE and VI were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Odd ratios of vitamins ACE and iron supplements were predicted to decrease the risk of having anaemia and VI, though not statistically significant (P>0.05). This study showed that antioxidant vitamins and iron supplementation as well as spectacle prescription were effective in reducing the prevalence of anaemia, antioxidant vitamin deficiencies and visual impairment among primary and secondary school children in Delta State.