Prevalence of Anemia among Children and Adolescents of Bangladesh: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Hospitalization of patients with nutritional anemia in the United States in 2020

Background

Nutritional anemia is highly prevalent and has triggered a globally recognized public health concern worldwide.

Objective

To better understand the prevalence of anemia and the state of nutritional health in developed countries to inform global nutritional health and better manage the disease.

Method

We employed the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)-2020 National Inpatient Health Care Data (NIS), administered by The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Nutritional anemia was diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). Matching analysis and multivariate regression were used to adjust for patient and hospital characteristics. Controls were obtained by stratifying and matching for age and sex.

Results

The 2020 HCUP-NIS database encompassed a survey over 6.4 million hospitalized patients, among which 1,745,350 patients diagnosed with anemia, representing approximately 26.97% of the hospitalized population, over 310,000 were diagnosed with nutritional anemia, and 13,150 patients were hospitalized for nutritional anemia as primary diagnosis. Hospitalization rate for nutritional anemia exhibited an increased age-dependent increase nationwide, especially among females, who displayed 1.87 times higher than males. Notably, in comparison to the control group, individuals of the Black race exhibit a higher prevalence of nutritional anemia (case group: 21.7%, control group: 13.0%, p < 0.001). In addition, hospitalization rates were higher among low-income populations, with lower rates of private insurance (case group: 18.7%, control group: 23.5%, p < 0.001) and higher rates of Medicaid insurance (case group: 15.4%, control group: 13.9%, p < 0.001). In areas characterized by larger urban centers and advanced economic conditions within the urban-rural distribution, there was an observed increase in the frequency of patient hospitalizations. Iron deficiency anemia emerged as the predominant subtype of nutritional anemia, accounting for 12,214 (92.88%). Secondary diagnosis among patients hospitalized for nutritional anemia revealed that a significant number faced concurrent major conditions like hypertension and renal failure.

Conclusion

In economically prosperous areas, greater attention should be given to the health of low-income individuals and the older adult. Our findings hold valuable insights for shaping targeted public health policies to effectively address the prevalence and consequences of nutritional anemia based on a overall population health.

Use of telemedicine to tackle health problems in South Asia during the COVID-19 era and beyond: a systematic review

Introduction

Telemedicine (TM) and teleconsultation services flourished during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission to avoid COVID-19 infection and physical contact. Many physicians switched to the virtual treatment mode and nearly all types of health disciplines were covered. Through this systematic review, the authors tried to explore the strengths and weaknesses of TM, identify the barriers to adopting TM by population, and explain the limitations of this healthcare delivery model.

Methods and results

In this systematic review, 28 studies were included (>53% high-quality studies) as eligible, where nearly 75% (n=21) of the studies were from India, and the remaining 25% (n=7) were from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Advice related to cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurological diseases were the most common among the health disciplines in which TM was used. A peak in teleconsultation was observed during the high transmission phase of COVID-19, although major queries were associated with existing health complications and comorbidities.

Conclusion

Other than a few concerns regarding connectivity, privacy, and diagnosis, TM was in fact affordable, timesaving, feasible, and accurate, which ensured a highly satisfying experience among the participants (>80%).

Prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among adolescent girls on Weekly Iron Folic Acid supplementation (WIFAS) implemented and non-implemented schools at Tokha municipality, Kathmandu

Anemia, the prevailing nutritional disorder worldwide, exerts its greatest impact on individuals in developing nations, exhibiting a heightened prevalence among adolescents. There is a window of opportunity for children to improve their nutritional status during their adolescence period. Weekly iron-folic acid supplementation is the preventive measure to break the intergenerational cycle of anemia. The correlation between the consumption of iron folic acid supplements and the prevention of anemia has been firmly established by numerous studies, revealing a statistically significant association. Therefore, this study was undertaken with the aim to assess the difference in the prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among adolescent girls in Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFAS) implemented and non-implemented schools at Tokha Municipality, Kathmandu. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 602 adolescent girls from grade six to ten equally divided into WIFAS implemented and WIFAS non-implemented schools. Hemoglobin estimation was done using the HemoCue Hb 301 method. The descriptive, univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was done using SPSS version 25 to identify a significant association between anemia and its associated variables at p-value<0.05. The overall prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls was found to be 17.4% out of which, 14% and 20.9% from WIFAS-implemented and non-implemented schools respectively. The factors like type of school, fathers' education and dietary diversity were found to be statistically significant with anemia during multivariable logistic regression analysis. Given the findings of this research, proper counseling and promotion of utilization of WIFAS in order to decrease the prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls are recommended.