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Clinical nutrition

Prevalence of Iron deficiency in Lebanese schoolchildren

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 74, pages 1157–1163 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

The prevalence of iron deficiency in the Lebanese pediatric population is unknown. The aim of this study is to estimate this prevalence in Lebanese schoolchildren and to assess the relation between iron status and related factors.

Subjects/methods

A total of 903 children aged 8–18 years (466 boys and 437 girls) were included in the study. Recruitment was done from ten schools with different SES levels and located in the Great Beirut and Mount Lebanon areas. Serum ferritin was measured in all participants and testosterone was measured only in boys using Immulite chemiluminescent assays.

Results

For the entire sample, the median serum ferritin concentration was 30.0 [19.8–44.8] ng/mL and the prevalence of iron deficiency (ferritin < 15 ng/mL) was 14.2%. Iron deficiency was higher in girls compared with boys (respectively, 20.8% and 7.9%). This prevalence varied with the SES (respectively, 11.6%, 11.9%, and 16.8% in high, middle, and low SES, p = 0.09). Iron deficiency increased with age (9.5%, 15.7%, and 17.5%, respectively, for the age groups 8–11, 12–14, and 15–18, p = 0.014) and did not differ between normal, overweight, and obese groups (p = 0.07). In boys, a significant positive correlation was observed between ferritin and total testosterone (rho = 0.150, p = 0.001).

Conclusion

The prevalence of iron deficiency is relatively low in Lebanon. Younger boys, menstruating girls, and children from low SES are more prone to iron deficiency, while BMI has no impact.

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Fig. 1: Variations of serum ferritin levels according to gender and age categories.
Fig. 2: Variations of iron deficiency percentage according to gender, BMI, and age.

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Funding

This work was supported by a grant of the “Conseil de recherche de l'Université Saint-Joseph” FM249, Beirut.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint-Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Ralph El Khoury & Marie-Hélène Gannagé-Yared

  2. Department of Biostatistics and Clinical Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Saint-Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Ghassan Sleilaty

Authors
  1. Ralph El Khoury
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  2. Ghassan Sleilaty
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  3. Marie-Hélène Gannagé-Yared
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marie-Hélène Gannagé-Yared.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee at Hôtel-Dieu de France Hospital (CEHDF449).

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A written informed consent was signed by the parents of the included children.

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El Khoury, R., Sleilaty, G. & Gannagé-Yared, MH. Prevalence of Iron deficiency in Lebanese schoolchildren. Eur J Clin Nutr 74, 1157–1163 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-020-0590-y

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