Prevalence and Risk Factors of Anaemia Among Children Under Five Years in Ghana: Analysis From the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey

Abstract

Background: Childhood anaemia remains a public health challenge in developing countries, mostly in children under five years in Sub-Sharan Africa. Anaemia in children is a preventable condition; however, it has serious consequences including growth retardation, low cognitive functioning, poor immune system causing an increased susceptibility to diseases, and death. This study determined the prevalence and associated risk factors of anaemia among children under five years in Ghana. Methods: Data from the most recent Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (DHS-VIII) was analysed in this study. Anaemia was examined as a binary variable- anaemic (coded as 1) and non-anaemic (coded as 0). The explanatory variables included age, child’s malaria vaccination status, mother’s number of antenatal visits and household source of drinking water. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression model were conducted to identify the risk factors of anaemia in the defined population. Results: 2,434 children aged 6-59 months were included in this analysis. The majority were males (50.5%), aged from 24-42 months (36.1%), and had received malaria vaccine (94.3%). The prevalence of anaemia in the population was 58.35% (95%CI=52.72-63.96). The logistic regression indicated that female children under five years in Ghana are less likely to have anaemia than male children under five years [aOR= 0.74, 95% CI=0.62-0.88, p<0.001]. Also, children with malaria had about two times the odds of anaemia than those without malaria [95% CI = 1.28-1.87, p<0.001]. Further, children whose mothers had received tertiary education were less likely to have anaemia [aOR= 0.60, 95% CI=0.38-0.96, p=0.03] than those whose mothers had no formal education.Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia is high among children under five years in Ghana, and this prevalence is determined by child’s age and malaria status, maternal education, household wealth index, and place of residence. Consequently, anaemia prevention and management strategies must prioritise these factors to reduce the anaemia prevalence in this population.