Rt. Jackson et Z. Al-mousa, Iron deficiency is a more important cause of anemia than hemoglobinopathies in Kuwaiti adolescent girls, J NUTR, 130(5), 2000, pp. 1212-1216
Anemia is the most prevalent nutritional problem worldwide, due mainly to i
ron deficiency. Studies of anemia are less common in adolescents than in wo
men and children. We examined anemia prevalence in adolescent Kuwaiti schoo
lgirls, and its association with hemoglobinopathies as well as the most com
mon environmental cause, Fe deficiency, A cross-sectional sample of 1051 he
althy adolescent schoolgirls was studied. Sample size was based on WHO crit
eria. Anemia, Fe deficiency and hemoglobin (Hb) variations were studied by
Hb concentration, erythrocyte protoporphyrin (EP) and an HPLC quantitation,
respectively. Of the subjects sampled, 30% were anemic. Mildly elevated EP
values were found in 68%. Girls with high EP levels were more likely (P <
0.001) to be anemic than girls with normal EP. Up to 25% of the girls may h
ave had Fe deficiency anemia. Hemoglobinopathies were neither prevalent nor
significantly associated with anemia, These data indicate that environment
al factors play a significant role in anemia among healthy, well-to-do Kuwa
iti adolescent girls.