IMPACT OF IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA ON IMMUNE FUNCTION, INFECTION SUSCEPTIBILITY, AND THERAPEUTIC RESPONSE TO IRON SUPPLEMENTATION IN SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN: A CLINIC-COMMUNITY BASED STUDY
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Keywords
Iron deficiency anemia, children of school-going age, the immune system, and vulnerability to infections.
Abstract
Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a widespread nutritional disease among school-age children and may impair immune activity and predispose these children to infection.
Objective: To determine the effect of iron deficiency anemia on immune homeostasis, predisposition to infectious diseases, and immune response to iron replacement in school-aged children.
Methods: The current study is a cross-sectional study conducted in a clinic-community-based research at Northwest School of Medicine between January 2024 and January 2025. Eighty-two children between the ages of 5 and 12 years who were confirmed with IDA were recruited using consecutive sampling. Baseline demographic, clinical, and hematological information was gathered, such as hemoglobin, serum ferritin, and serum iron. The SPSS v25 version was used to analyze the data, Chi-square tests, and paired t-tests were performed, and p≤0.05 was taken as significant.
Results: Recurrent infections, mostly respiratory, were most common in most children, with low hemoglobin significantly linked to an increased frequency of infections (p = 0.021). Hemoglobin and ferritin levels (p < 0.001) and the number of infection episodes significantly improved with iron supplementation.
Conclusion: School-age children with iron deficiency anemia show decreased immune response and susceptibility to infections. Oral iron supplementation is effective in restoring hematological parameters and decreasing infection burden, which implies the role of early identification and management of IDA with the help of combined clinic-community strategies.
References
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Ali Abbas Khan
Senior Registrar, Department of Paediatrics, Mufti Mehmood Teaching Hospital, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
Sahar Iqbal
Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatrics, Northwest General Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan
Muhammad Atif
Lecturer, Department of Pharmacology, Nowshera Medical College, Nowshera, Pakistan
Furqan Ali Shah
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Pak International Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan
Sayed Khan
Assistant Professor, Department of Cummunity Medicine, Gomal Medical College, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
Tahira Jehangir
Associate Professor and Chairperson Pharmacology Department, Nowshera Medical College, Nowshera, Pakistan
