Etiology of anemia in preschool children: A systematic literature review

Abstract

While 28% of Colombian preschool children were anemic in 2010, only 16% had iron‐deficiency anemia. A review was conducted to understand other potential causes of anemia in this age group, and to inform public health policy and programs in Colombia. Literature review methods were predefined and adjusted as needed, per Cochrane guidelines. Systematic searches of Medline, EMBASE, SciELO, and Cochrane Central were performed using a combination of MeSH terms and key words (anemia/etiology, hemoglobin) and limited by publication type (Humans, Clinical Trial, Randomized Controlled Trial, Case Reports, Controlled Clinical Trial, Multicenter Study), age (birth to <5 y), and publication dates (1990 – 2011). For example, the Medline search yielded 540 abstracts, which were independently evaluated by 2 reviewers. Of the 540 abstracts, 163 met inclusion criteria for anemia etiology. Among these publications, causes included sickle‐cell, thalassemia, nutrient intake, malaria, hemorrhage, helicobacter pylori, parasites and parvovirus B19. Conclusions regarding the potential etiologies of anemia in preschool children for whom iron deficiency is not the principal cause will be made upon completion of the literature review. Funding: ICBF, Pennsylvania State University and CIAT.