Prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia and Reference Range of Complete Blood Count, Reticulocyte Parameters in Infants Aged 9–11 Months

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is still a major global health problem. Determination of reference ranges for complete blood count (CBC), reticulocyte hemoglobin content (Ret-He), immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF), and reticulocyte production index (RPI) are essential to help diagnose a disease. PURPOSE: The study aims to know the prevalence of IDA, risk factors that influence it, and set a reference range for CBC and reticulocyte parameters in infants aged 9–11 months in Indonesia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was conducted prospectively at 10 Community Health Centers in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, from August 2020 to August 2021. RESULTS: This study recruited 100 healthy infants (47% boys, 53% girls) aged 9–11 months. The prevalence of IDA was 32%. There is no association between IDA prevalence with the mother’s education and occupation, maternal parity, family income, and infant nutritional status (p > 0.05). The reference range for hemoglobin (Hb) at P2.5-P97.5, P3-P97, P5-P95 and mean ± 2SD was 11.06 to 14.34 g/dL, 11.10 to 14.31 g/dL, 11.13 to 13.90 g/dL and 10.57 to 13.65 g/dL, respectively. This study also defined the reference ranges for reticulocyte parameters. CONCLUSION: The reference range of CBC, Ret-He, IRF, and RPI for healthy infants aged 9–11 months in this study can be used as a benchmark.