The Journal of

Introduction: Anemia is regarded as a public health problem worldwide, specifically among children. Therefore, this study, which sought to determine the factors associated with anemia, aimed to assess the association between anemia and demographic factors in children aged 7-12 years old in Yazd.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 390 elementary schools students aged 7-12 years in Yazd were selected randomly by multistage cluster sampling. In addition, the inclusion criteria involved only the healthy students and the girls whose their menstrual cycles had started were excluded. demographic information was collected by applying questionnaire and their height and weight were measured. Anemia is defined as Hb level below 11.5 g/dL, and risk for anemia was defined as Hb level between 11.5-13.5. Serum ferritin below 15 g/dl was defined as severe anemia or iron deficiency.

Results: Anemia was reported in 1.3% of the children; though 51.5% of children were demonstrated to be at risk of anemia. In addition, 9.1% of children had severe anemia. Among the studied demographic factors, age and gender were significantly associated with anemia, so 7-8 year children as well as the female students had a higher prevalence of anemia.

Conclusion: The study findings revealed that more than half of Yazdi adolescents had anemia or were at risk of anemia. High prevalence of anemia in girls before the onset of menstrual cycles demonda to be prominently taken into account.