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Early-life environmental exposures and anaemia among children under age five in Sub-Saharan Africa: An insight from the Demographic & Health Surveys
Authors: Prince M.Amegbor
Source: Science of The Total Environment, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154957
Topic(s): Anemia
Children under five
Country: Africa
  Multiple African Countries
Published: MAR 2022
Abstract: Background: Reports show that the majority (60%) of children under age five years in Sub-Saharan Africa are anaemic. Studies in the region have mainly focused on the effect of individual, maternal and household socioeconomic status on the prevalence of anaemia. Currently, there is limited understanding of the association between early-life environmental exposures and anaemia among children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Objective: The study examines the association between early-life environmental exposures and anaemia among children under five in Sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: The study used health and demographic data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) program and environmental data from NASA's Geospatial Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (GIOVANNI). Three exposure periods were defined for the study, namely: in-utero, post-utero and cumulative life exposures. Multilevel mixed-effect models were used to assess the associations between environmental exposures and anaemia in each exposure period. Results: The findings show 63% of children in the study were anaemic. It also reveals that mean PM 2.5 exposure for in-utero (34.93 µgm-3), post-utero (35.23 µgm-3) and cumulative exposure (35.08 µgm-3) were six times higher than the new air quality guideline WHO recommended. A 10 µgm-3 increase in in-utero, post-utero and cumulative PM 2.5 exposures were associated with 4% to 5% increase in the prevalence of anaemia among children. A 10ppbv increase in in-utero, post-utero and cumulative carbon monoxide exposures were associated with 1% increase in the prevalence of anaemia among children. The spatial risk distribution maps show that socioeconomic factors modify the spatial risk distribution pattern. Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that early-life exposure to ambient air pollution is significantly associated with anaemia among children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, policies aimed at addressing air quality should be incorporated in targeted interventions for anaemia among children in the region.
Web: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969722020502