Anemia prevalence among ethnic minority schoolchildren in an undeveloped city in southwest China.

OBJECTIVES

Anemia is one of the most important nutritional deficiency diseases among schoolchildren worldwide. More attention needs to be focused on anemia prevalence in ethnic minorities in the multiethnic country of China. This study was conducted in Mengzi City, Yunnan Province, which has the largest variety of ethnic minorities in China, to investigate the anemia prevalence among ethnic minority schoolchildren ages 6 to 15 y.

METHODS

The plasma hemoglobin concentration of all participants was examined once a year from 2014 to 2020. Anemia was defined as a blood hemoglobin level below 11g/dL, 12g/dL, 13g/dL and 12g/dL for schoolchildren ages 5 to 11y, 12 to 14 y, ages 15 to 19 y males and females, respectively.

RESULTS

The overall anemia prevalence (7.3%) was higher than the national level (6.1%). The prevalence among ethnic minorities (8.2%) was higher than among Han Chinese (6.8%), and the prevalence was higher among 6-year-olds (12.2%), females (8.0%), those of Hani Nationality (8.7%), and underweight students (8.5%). The overall prevalence trend of ethnic minorities rose continuously from 2014 to 2020. Ethnic minorities had a higher risk of anemia than did Han Chinese. Overweight schoolchildren (odds ratio [OR], 0.816) and those with obesity (OR, 0.710) had a lower risk of anemia than did students with normal-weight status.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the prevalence of anemia among schoolchildren in Mengzi is a mild public health problem, the rate among ethnic minorities is consistently higher than among Han Chinese and keeps rising. Measures to prevent and control anemia need to be prioritized in ethnic minorities, particularly those of Hani Nationality, females, and underweight schoolchildren.