Prevalence, Morphological Classification, and Factors Associated With Severe Anemia among Children Under 5 Years of Age at Itojo Hospital

study sought to establish the prevalence, morphological classifications, and factors associated with severe anemia among children attending Itojo Hospital. A hospital-based cross-sectional study design was used in this study in which children aged less than 5 years who attended the pediatric ward at Itojo Hospital were involved. Patients were consecutively recruited until a sample size of 296 was obtained. Data were collected from patients’ caregivers with a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using SPSS Version 20.0. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were used during data analysis. Multiple logistic regression models were used to show the strength of the relationship and the likelihood that each of the factors would lead to severe anemia among children under 5 years. Of the 296 patients enrolled, the prevalence of severe anemia was 13.9%. The Majority of the patients (50.7%) had microcytic anemia, followed by 32.8% with normocytic anemia. Factors that were significantly associated with severe anemia were the age of the child (P=0.029), HIV/AIDS (P=0.000), leukemia (P=0.000), and sickle cell disease (P=0.000). The prevalence of severe anemia among children less than five years of age was found to be relatively high hence increasingly becoming a public health problem. There is a need for age-specific interventions that comprehensively address the issue of improved nutrition, prevention, and management of HIV infection as well as chronic and genetic disorders.