Table 1. Descriptive Characteristics and Prevalence of Selected Biological Indicators Among the Total Sample and Apparently Healthy Subsample in a Multinational Sample.
| Characteristic | Participants, No. (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preschool children aged 6-59 mo | Nonpregnant women aged 15-49 y | |||
| Overall (n = 33 699) | Healthy subgroup (n = 13 445) | Overall (n = 46 251) | Healthy subgroup (n = 25 880) | |
| Age, mean (SD), mo for children or y for women | 29.9 (15.6) | 32.9 (16.0) | 31.0 (9.5) | 30.9 (9.9) |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 17 391 (51.6) | 6750 (50.2) | 0 | 0 |
| Female | 16 308 (48.4) | 6695 (49.8) | 46 251 (100.0) | 25 880 (100.0) |
| Biomarkers and infection, % (95% CI)a | ||||
| Iron deficiency | 22.1 (21.6-22.5) | NA | 21.2 (20.8-21.6) | NA |
| Vitamin A deficiency | 29.0 (28.5-29.5) | NA | 9.1 (8.7-9.4) | NA |
| Inflammation | 32.7 (32.2-33.3) | NA | 21.9 (21.5-22.3) | NA |
| Malaria | 26.0 (24.9-27.0) | NA | 12.7 (11.8-13.7) | NA |
| Anemia | 40.9 (40.4-41.4) | 23.4 (22.6-24.1) | 22.3 (21.9-22.7) | 13.0 (12.6-13.4) |
| Blood draw method | ||||
| Venous | 14 628 (46.4) | 5104 (38.0) | 23 759 (52.4) | 13 904 (53.7) |
| Capillary | 16 885 (53.6) | 8341 (62.0) | 21 586 (47.6) | 11 976 (46.3) |
| Hb assessment method | ||||
| Automated hematology analyzer | 3150 (10.0) | 2276 (16.9) | 11 733 (25.9) | 7883 (30.5) |
| Hemocue model | ||||
| Hb-B | 3148 (10.0) | 939 (7.0) | 863 (1.9) | 568 (2.2) |
| 201+ | 22 925 (72.7) | 9277 (69.0) | 29 193 (64.4) | 14 946 (57.8) |
| 301 | 2290 (7.3) | 956 (7.1) | 3556 (7.8) | 2486 (9.6) |
Abbreviations: Hb, hemoglobin; NA, not applicable.
Iron deficiency was defined as ferritin less than 12 ng/mL for children or less than 15 ng/mL for women (to convert to micrograms per liter, multiply by 1.0). Vitamin A deficiency was defined as retinol-binding protein or retinol less than 20.1 μg/dL, when available (to convert to micromoles per liter, multiply by 0.0349). Inflammation was defined as C-reactive protein greater than 0.5 mg/dL (to convert to milligrams per liter, multiply by 10) or α-1-acid glycoprotein greater than 1 g/L. Anemia was defined as Hb less than 11.0 g/dL for children, and less than 12.0 g/dL for nonpregnant women (to convert to grams per liter, multiply by 10). Hb values were adjusted for altitude, when available (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Ecuador, Great Britain, Laos, Malawi, Mexico 2006 and 2012, and Rwanda); otherwise, no adjustment was applied, or if altitude was less than 1000 m, no adjustment was needed. Hb values further adjusted for smoking among women (Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico 2006 and 2012, Great Britain, and US). Healthy defined as no inflammation, no iron deficiency, no vitamin A deficiency, and no known malaria. All estimates were unweighted and were derived from pooled analyses of all surveys. Percentages for vitamin A deficiency and malaria are based only on surveys that measured vitamin A or malaria. Country-specific estimates are provided in eTable 1 and eTable 2 in the Supplement.