Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia among children of 6 – 59 months in Ghana using the logistic regression approach

Abstract

Anaemia is a major public health problem affecting children worldwide, with critical consequences on their growth, cognitive development, and overall health which is a result of a reduction in red blood cells. This study assesses the prevalence of anaemia among children aged 6 – 59 months in Ghana. The study utilised data on 710 (424 (60%) as anaemic and 286 (40%) as non-anaemic). The Logistic Regression (LR) approach is used to model the study with = 0 indicating all parameters of the fitted model are zero and : denoting that at least one of the parameters is significantly different from zero. The continuous age as a covariate was used to divide the age into various age subgroups, enhancing the relationship between age and anaemia. This formulation allowed for the use of logistic regression models to capture non-linear relations effectively. The result of the study shows that children aged 6 - 12 months have a higher probability of being anaemic, while the P-value ( P value = 0.234, Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.503, and 95% Confidence Interval) suggests that children aged 16 - 25 months have a significant effect on predicting the dependent variable. Based on the results of this study, the odds ratio (OR) indicates that a child who is 26 to 35 months old decreases the odds of being declared non-anaemic. In essence, children aged 26 to 35 months old have a higher probability of being anaemic with children aged 6 to 15 months old as a reference. This study shows that the prevalence of anaemia among children 49 – 59 months of age is the lowest at 12.68% followed by 17.75% prevalence of anaemia among children of 37 – 48 months. This is an indication that as children grow, the probability of a higher rate of the prevalence of anaemia reduces, which means children below 24 months old have a higher prevalence of anaemia. The findings of this study underscore the importance of early detection, preventive strategies, and targeted interventions in combating anaemia in children.