Hematological Indices in Children with Non-organic Failure to Thrive: a Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND: Non-organic failure to thrive (NFTT) is the most common cause of failure to thrive (FTT) which is attributed to inadequate nutrition due to economic factors or parental neglect. NFTT can lead to a vicious cycle of poor and inadequate eating and severity of anemia. The aim of this study was to determine the hematological indices in children with NFTT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a cross sectional case control study, iron status and blood indices of forty five aged 6–60 months children with NFTT were evaluated and compared with 45 healthy control children (with matching of age and sex). RESULTS: In this study, the prevalence of anemia was 48.9% in NFTT compared to 11.4% in the control group (p<0.001). Microcytic anemia was significantly more prevalent among the subjects than the controls (77.8% versus 27.3%; p<0. 001). The serum iron level was 73.2 and 62.8 mcg/dl for the case and control groups (P=0.29). The ferritin level in the study group was 29.8 versus 35.47 ng/ml in the control group (p=0.227). The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among children with mild, moderate, and severe underweight was 44.4%, 45.5%, and 48%, respectively. The highest prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia was seen between age group of 12 and 24 months (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, a correlation between malnutrition and anemia was found. However, further studies are needed to assess and confirm the current outcomes.