Prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia And Its Impact on Growth And Development In Pediatric Population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan

Background Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a significant global health issue, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. It leads to impaired physical growth, cognitive development, and overall well-being in children. Despite being widely studied, region-specific data, particularly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan, remains limited, emphasizing the need for focused Study in this area. Objectives: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is one of the most severe problems of public health, especially within low and middle-income countries. The present study will examine both the problem of IDA among children of the 2–12 years old age group in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan, and its consequences to the physical and cognitive development of children. Methods: In the current cross-sectional Prospective study 100 children aged 2 to 12 years old were included in the study, including urban and rural samples. Blood samples that were collected in the veins were tested to determine hemoglobin level and iron status in the blood serum. At the same time, the anthropometric measures (height and weight) and the cognitive functioning were assessed by the use of the validated standardized measures. Statistical work was done in SPSS and included descriptive summaries, Chi-square test and multiple regression models in order to look at the relationship between iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and growth and cognitive outcomes. Results: It was found that iron deficiency anemia was very common with 48% of children having mild anemia 30% having moderate anemia and 6% having severe anemia. The physical growth parameters (height and weight) were also much less in anemic children compared to their non-anemic counterparts (p- less than − 0.05). The average height of anemic children was 110cm 7cm and the average weight of non-anemic children was 22.4cm 4.2kg. The cognitive performance score was also significantly lower in children with IDA; the average IQ score was 85.338.37 on anemic children and 93.887.25 on non-anemic children (P=.01). Conclusion: The present study proves that iron deficiency anemia is still endemic in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that it causes a strong adverse impact on somatic developmental patterns and neurocognitive maturity in the childhood population. These statistic, in turn, support the necessity of strictly developed intervention measures, including iron fortification measures and more efficient nutrition education, to reduce this health emergency and to promote high health outcomes among the child population of the region.