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European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 24, Supplement 2, 2014
Prevalence of anaemia in under five-years-old children in three counties of Kazakhstan: a cross-sectional study Mikhail Valkov S Tazhibayev1, O Dolmatova1, Z Yessimsiitova2, Zh Bazarbayeva2, N Muratbekova1, A Beisbekova1,3, AM Grjibovski4,5 1 Kazakh Academy of Nutrition, Almaty, Kazakhstan 2 Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan 3 Faculty of Nutrition, Kazakh National Medical University named after SD Asfendiyarov, Almaty, Kazakhstan 4 International School of Public Health, Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk, Russia 5 Department of International Public Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway Contact:
[email protected]
Background Anemia remains to be a public health problem with major consequences for human health in parts of the European WHO region, for example, former Soviet Republics of Central Asia. Children under 5 years is one of the most vulnerable groups or anaemia. Most of the research in Kazakhstan has been performed in capital cities – Almaty and Astana while the evidence from less privileged areas is very limited. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anaemia in children under 5 years in three remote areas in the North of Kazakhstan. Methods A cross-sectional study. Random samples of children aged 6-59 months from Aktobe (n = 251), Pavlodar (n = 256) and North Kazakhstan (n = 250) counties were selected. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin level
