Comparative study of prevalence of anemia in Han and Li minority students from poor areas of Hainan Province

Objective To analyze the prevalence of anemia among Han and Li students in poor areas of Hainan Province.Methods Four primary schools and 4 middle schools were selected.One to two classes from each grade were randomly chosen from schools located in poor areas of Hainan province.Fasting venous blood samples were collected,HiCN,HPLC and LC-MS/MS methods were used to determine hemoglobin,retinol and 25(OH) D concentration (including 25(OH) D3 and 25(OH) D2).Results A total of 1 324 students were enrolled,including 662 boys and 662 girls.The overall prevalence of anemia was 6.6%(87/1 324).Prevalence of anemia among Li students(9.6%) was higher than that among Han students (3.1%) (x2=22.810,P<0.01),while no gender difference was found in anemia prevalence (x2=0.603,P=0.438).Specifically,prevalence of anemia among Han male,Han female,Li male,Li female students was 3.7%,2.5%,8.0%,11.3% respectively.Logistic regression analysis suggested that students with marasmus or vitamin A deficiency(VAD) had a higher risk of anemia(OR=1.847,1.701).Conclusion The overall prevalence of is not a serious problem among Hart and Li minority students in poor areas of Hainan,however,prevention and treatment of iron deficiency and anemia still needs to be implemented,especially among Li minority students.Cautions should be paid to the association between anemia and body mass index.