{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T20:05:09Z","timestamp":1773086709890,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]],"date-time":"2024-03-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1711670400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosglobalpublichealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Glob Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Anemia is a significant public health problem among children worldwide. The etiology of anemia is multifactorial but iron deficiency (ID) is the most common cause of anemia in low- and middle-income countries. ID and anemia in infancy can impair growth and cognitive development. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of anemia among six-week-old infants in Kwale County, Kenya. This cross-sectional study included 424 mother-infant pairs. Structured questionnaires were administered to the mothers to obtain information on socio-demographic variables, maternal characteristics and birth information. Anthropometric data was collected for each child. A heel prick was done to measure hemoglobin and zinc protoporphyrin concentration levels. Chi-square test, bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were done to determine factors associated with anemia. The prevalence of ID, anemia and IDA was 60.4% (95%CI: 55.9\u201365.2), 21.0% (95%CI: 17.5\u201325.2) and 15.8% (95%CI: 12.7\u201319.7) respectively. Bivariate analysis showed that the risk of anemia was significantly higher among male infants (odds ratio (OR) = 2.20 (95%CI: 1.33\u20133.63), p = 0.002), iron deficient infants (OR = 2.35 (95%CI: 1.39\u20133.99), p = 0.001) and infants from Msambweni Sub-County (OR = 2.80 (95%CI: 1.40\u20134.62), p&lt;0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that odds of anemia were significantly higher in infants born to mothers who did not use iron supplements during pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 74.01 (95%CI: 2.45\u20132238.21), p = 0.013 and significantly lower in infants born to mothers with parity \u2265 4 (aOR = 0.05 ((95%CI: 0.00\u20130.77), p = 0.024). In six-week-old infants in rural Kenya, anemia prevalence was 21.0% with ID accounting for 75.3% of anemia cases. Given the physical and cognitive impairments associated with ID and anemia in early infancy, it may be prudent to re-evaluate the current Kenyan pediatric protocols to include anemia screening and potential treatment of infants less than 6-months of age.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0003062","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]],"date-time":"2024-03-29T17:22:48Z","timestamp":1711732968000},"page":"e0003062","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Prevalence and predictors of anemia among six-week-old infants in Kwale County, Kenya: A cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"4","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-6061-9114","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Joyce","family":"Mwakishalua","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Simon","family":"Karanja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Raphael","family":"Lihana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2647-1359","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Collins","family":"Okoyo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nicole","family":"Stoffel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Zimmermann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]]},"reference":[{"issue":"Suppl 2","key":"pgph.0003062.ref001","first-page":"830","article-title":"Global, Regional, and National Prevalence of Anemia and Its Causes in 204 Countries and Territories, 1990\u20132019","volume":"4","author":"W Gardner","year":"2020","journal-title":"Current Developments in Nutrition"},{"issue":"5","key":"pgph.0003062.ref002","article-title":"A systematic analysis of global anemia burden from 1990 to 2010","volume":"123","author":"N Kassebaum","year":"2014","journal-title":"Blood, the journal of the American Society of Haematology"},{"key":"pgph.0003062.ref003","unstructured":"WHO. 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