[Prevalence of anemia and microcytic anemia among women in north-western Tabriz]

ABSTRACT

Anemia is one of the most common disorders affecting all age groups. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of anemia and microcytic anemia in the population served by Asadabadi Health Center in Tabriz. We used a systematic sampling method to select 1623 subjects out of a total of 233000 persons aged above 12 years. Measurements of hemoglobin, MCV [Mean Cell Volume] and in the case of anemia, serum iron, ferritin, TIBC [Total Iron Binding Capacity], together with hemoglobin electrophoresis and reticulocyte count were performed in reference laboratories. Data were analyzed using T tests and the Epi6 software package. The prevalence rate of anemia was 9.7%; more than 75% of the cases were due to iron deficiency, while 11.4% were caused by minor thalassemia. Prevalence rates for iron deficiency anemia and minor thalassemia in studied population were 7.3% and 1.1% respectively. Findings show that the degree of anemia - as defined in the WHO classification- is mild in this region. The most common cause of anemia is iron deficiency