Epidemiology of iron deficiency among adolescents aged 10–19 years old in Qatar: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the magnitude and the determinants of iron deficiency among adolescents aged 10–19 years in the State of Qatar. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study design was used to conduct the study. SETTING: Primary healthcare centres covering the three main geographical areas. One health centre was selected randomly from each region catchment areas: Northern, Central and Western. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred and fifty adolescents aged 10–19 years of all nationalities were enrolled in the study. OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum ferritin cut-off level used to diagnose iron deficiency (<15 µg/L), with normal C reactive protein. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 14.00±2.920, and more than half of the participating adolescents were among 10–14 years old age group (56.9%). Fifty-five per cent of the study participants were Non-Qatari, and females consisted of 70.0% of the participants. The prevalence of iron deficiency was 26.4%. Iron deficiency was significantly associated with gender, nationality, attaining menarche and consumption of iron absorption enhancers (citrus fruits and juice). CONCLUSION: Iron deficiency among adolescents is of moderate public health concern in the country, according to the classification of the WHO. The estimated prevalence of iron deficiency was close to what was found in other low-income and middle-income countries; however, it is still behind the developed countries. Gender, attaining menarche and dietary habits are among the important factors that are associated with iron deficiency. Thus, there is a need to coordinate efforts and resources to address this issue by implementing effective strategies at the community and primary healthcare levels.