Prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia and Reference Range of Complete Blood Count, Reticulocyte Parameters in Infants Aged 9-11 Months

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is still a major global health problem. Determination of reference ranges for complete blood count (CBC), reticulocyte hemoglobin content (Ret-He), immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF), and reticulocyte production index (RPI) are essential to help diagnose a disease.Purpose: The study aims to know the prevalence of IDA, risk factors that influence it, and set a reference range for CBC and reticulocyte parameters in infants aged 9-11 months in Indonesia.Patients and Methods: The study was conducted prospectively at 10 Community Health Centers in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan,Results: This study recruited 100 healthy infants (47% boys, 53% girls) aged 9-11 months. The prevalence of IDA was 32%. There is no association between IDA prevalence with the mother's education and occupation, maternal parity, family income, and infant nutritional status (p > 0.05). The reference range for hemoglobin (Hb) at P2.5-P97.5, P3-P97, P5-P95 and mean +/- 2SD was 11.06 to 14.34 g/dL, 11.10 to 14.31 g/dL, 11.13 to 13.90 g/dL and 10.57 to 13.65 g/dL, respectively. This study also defined the reference ranges for reticulocyte parameters.Conclusion: The reference range of CBC, Ret-He, IRF, and RPI for healthy infants aged 9-11 months in this study can be used as a benchmark.

Automated summary

This study aims to determine the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA), identify the influencing factors, and establish reference ranges for complete blood count (CBC) and reticulocyte parameters in infants aged 9-11 months in Indonesia. The prevalence of IDA in the study population was found to be 32%.