Detection of Anemia in Schoolchildren Aged 6-18 Years With Hematocrit Percentile Charts and the Impact of Economic Status in Southern Brazil.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To generate hematocrit percentile charts for schoolchildren aged 6-18 years and determine the prevalence of anemia by socioeconomic status class in southern Brazil.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study utilizing data collected between 2014 and 2017 from southern Brazil. The study's sample consists of 4802 schoolchildren, aged 6 to 18 years. The percentile charts for sex-specific hematocrit were developed using the LMS (Lambda-Mu-Sigma) method. The simplified economic classification, based on ABEP criteria, was used to group individuals into A + B (high), C (middle), and D + E (low) income classes. Anemia was defined as hematocrit z-score ≤ -1.96 for age and sex.

Results

Among boys, 58 (2.86%) were anemic, 1955 (94.81%) had normal hematocrit levels, and 48

SUBMITTER: Jung VR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11959109 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature