Prevalence of Iron Deficiency,Anaemia,and Iron-deficiency Anaemia in High-school Students in Jolfa,East Azerbaijan

Abstract

Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutritional problem in the world. We determined the prevalence of iron deficiency, anaemia, and iron-deficiency anaemia in 652 high-school students (340 girls and 312 boys) who were selected by stepwise random sampling from 16 high schools in Jolfa, East Azerbaijan. Iron deficiency was defined as having transferrin saturation and/or serum ferritin values below normal. Anaemia was defined as having haemoglobin levels below normal. Iron-deficiency anaemia was taken to be the combination of both. The prevalences of iron deficiency, anaemia, and iron-deficiency anaemia were 60.7%, 12.6%, and 11.5%, respectively. The respective prevalences of these conditions were 66.5%, 13.6%, and 13% in girls and 54.5%, 11.6%, and 10.3% in boys. The prevalences of these conditions were higher among 15- and 16-year-old boys than among girls. Among boys, age was inversely related to the prevalence of iron deficiency (r = −0.88, p < .05) and anaemia (r = −0.79, p < .07). Among girls, age was directly related to the prevalence of anaemia (r = 0.96, p<.001) and iron-deficiency anaemia (r = 0.99, p < .001).