TABLE 3.
Anemia was more strongly associated with malaria than iron deficiency among children 6–59 mo old, Malawi Micronutrient Survey 2015–2016 (n = 819)
| Characteristics known to cause anemia (prevalence) |
Anemia prevalence among exposed1 |
Anemia prevalence among unexposed1 |
Prevalence ratio |
Adjusted prevalence ratio2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron deficiency3 (16.9%) | 40.2 | 26.9 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Malaria (26.2%) | 57.4 | 19.1 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| Inflammation4 (53.0%) | 35.2 | 22.3 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
| Alpha-thalassemia (42.7%) | 34.1 | 25.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Low vitamin B12 (5.3%) | 47.0 | 28.1 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
Exposed vs. unexposed means those with the characteristic vs. those without the characteristics. For example, the anemia prevalence among children with iron deficiency was 40.2%, and the anemia prevalence among children without iron deficiency was 26.9%.
Adjusted prevalence ratio is the prevalence of anemia among exposed divided by the prevalence of anemia among unexposed, while accounting for other conditions significantly associated with anemia (iron, malaria, inflammation, alpha-thalassemia, vitamin B12 depletion, and child age).
Iron deficiency is defined as inflammation-adjusted ferritin <12 μg/L.
Inflammation is defined as C-reactive protein >5 mg/L or alpha-1-acid glycoprotein >1 g/L.