Anemia Prevalence, Characteristics, and Hematological Profile among Stunted Children Under 2 Years Old in Bandung Regency, Indonesia

Anemia and stunted growth are major health problems with adverse consequences for children. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and hematological profile of anemia among stunted children under 2 years old. A nested cross-sectional study from a child cohort was conducted in Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia. Two hundred twenty-two children aged 6 to 24 months were randomly selected. These children were reexamined from November 2019 to March 2020 for anthropometric measurements and hematological assessment and interviewed for relevant risk factors of stunted growth and anemia. Ninety-eight stunted children were identified and distributed into stunted and severely stunted groups (47.96 vs. 52.04%). Around 85.4% of the children came from low-income families and 31.7% were severely underweight for age. Surprisingly most of these stunted children had normal birth weight and length and were born at term (68.3, 53.7, and 85.4%). The prevalence rate of anemia among stunted children was 41.8%, they had decreased mean corpuscular volume (56%), decreased mean corpuscular hemoglobin (73%), and normochromic mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations (51.2%). Leucocytosis was higher than leucopenia (10 vs. 3.7%) and thrombocytosis (n = 15, 36%) as compared to thrombocytopenia (n = 5, 12%). The prevalence of anemia was high among stunted children. The characteristics of stunted children with and without anemia were similar. The fact that these stunted children had few risk factors for stunting emphasizes the need to focus on improved postnatal care to prevent faltering. Based on the hematology profile, iron deficiency anemia was suspected to be the most etiology in these cases warranting further follow-up and management.