Prevalence of Anemia Among Children and Adolescents in Rural Area of Khulais in Saudi Arabia

Introduction

The decreased absolute circulating red blood cell count or the inability of red blood cells to meet physiological needs is called anemia. Anemia can affect mental health, learning capacity, and the ability to concentrate. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of anemia among children and adolescents living in the rural areas of Khulais, Saudi Arabia.

Methods

This cross-sectional study including 417 individuals was conducted at Khulais Hospital in the rural areas in Saudi Arabia to estimate the prevalence of anemia among children and adolescents. The inclusion criterion for the study was that participants must be Saudi citizens. Data for this study were collected in March 2021. The age of the children ranged from 7 to 11 years, whereas that of adolescent males and females was between 12 and 18 years.

Results

In total, the study included 147 male adolescents, 123 female adolescents, and 147 children participants. The overall prevalence of anemia among adolescents was high (39.1%). The prevalence of anemia was 44.9% (66/147), 46.3% (57/123), and 27.2% (40/147) in male adolescents (age 12-18 years), female adolescents (age 12-18 years), and children (age 7-11 years), respectively. Statistical analysis revealed an association between the prevalence of anemia and the increasing age of participants from rural areas.

Conclusion

The present study results indicate that the prevalence of anemia in the rural areas of Saudi Arabia is high. The high prevalence can be explained by several factors, such as parents’ low socioeconomic status and living in rural areas, which limits the availability as well as different types of nutritious food and thereby negatively affects the nutritional status of such children and adolescents.

Quality of life among caregivers of sickle cell disease patients: a cross sectional study

PURPOSE

To assess the quality of life (QoL) of caregivers of children with sickle cell disease (SCD) and to determine the risk factors associated with poor QoL.

METHOD

A cross sectional study was conducted between 01 and 30 June 2015, in a tertiary care center in western Saudi Arabia to assess various dimensions of QoL by using TNO-AZL Questionnaire for Adult's Health-related Quality of Life (TAAQOL). A total 164 adult caregivers (aged 16 years or more) of children with SCD, who were regularly visiting the department were enrolled (refusal rate = 61.6%). The questionnaire scores were transformed into 0-100 scale; with higher scores indicating less difficulty and better QoL Demographic, socioeconomic data and a satisfaction questionnaire regarding participants' lifestyle were collected and analyzed as risk factors for impaired QoL, by comparing different QoL dimensions' scores using independent t-test, Oneway ANOVA, or linear regression, as appropriate.

RESULTS

Sixty-three caregivers were included; 79.4% were mothers, age range 21-71 years, 64.5% were from low social class receiving insufficient support and financial needs were unmet for considerable number of families. Analysis of QoL using TAAQOL showed that emotions (median [75th centile] = 44.44 [66.67] for negative and 61.11 [72.22] for positive emotions), sleep quality (66.67 [91.67]) and sexual life (50.00 [83.33]) were the most affected dimensions. Professional achievement (91.67 [100]), cognitive skills (83.33 [100]), and social contact (100 [100]) were relatively preserved. Negative emotions were more marked in mothers and mostly predicted by satisfaction with social relations notably with partner (B = 3.14, p = 0.016), friends (B = 2.51, p = 0.015) and relatives (B = 2.69, p = 0.016). Positive emotions were predicted by the levels of satisfaction of the caregiver with his/her health (B = 2.56, p = 0.001), job achievement (B = 4.54, p = 0.001), living conditions (B = 2.60, p = 0.034) and the condition of the diseased child (B = 2.55, p = 0.011). A strong correlation was found between sleep quality and cognitive skills.

CONCLUSION

There are notable financial and emotional burdens on the caregivers of children with SCD affecting various aspects of their QoL, which are likely to be impacted by the individual levels of social and professional achievement. Physicians and health authorities should give particular attention to the QoL of caregivers and families of children with SCD, to help them cope up with the disease and overcome its related psychological and financial impacts.

Serum Sclerostin Levels in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Their Association with Bone Turnover Markers and Bone Mineral Densitometry

Background

The aim of the study was to compare serum sclerostin levels in human im-munodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients and healthy controls, and to evaluate their relationship with bone turnover markers (BTM) and bone mineral density (BMD).

Methods

We prospectively studied 33 HIV treatment-naive patients and 63 healthy individuals; matched for age and sex. Serum sclerostin levels, BTM, BMD were measured. Viral load and cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) levels were also assessed in HIV-infected patients.

Results

The mean±standard deviation (SD) age of sample was 37.6±10.3 years (range, 19 to 59 years). Of the 96 subjects, 58 (60.4%) were male and 38 (39.6%) were female. Infection with HIV is associated with significant reduction in serum sclerostin levels (HIV-infected: 39.4±28.3 vs. non HIV: 76.6±15.7 pmol/L; P<0.001) and a decrease in BMD at femoral neck and lumbar spine compared to healthy controls. Sclerostin however was not correlated with BMD and was not related to age, generally a strong correlation. There were no significant correlations between sclerostin and BTM (P>0.05).

Conclusions

These findings suggest that untreated HIV and the resulting immune deficiency and/or systemic inflammation could be an important regulator of serum sclerostin in this population.