Prevalence of anaemia among infants attending well-baby clinics in Oman

Background: Anaemia during early childhood impairs growth and neurodevelopment and increases morbidity. However, data on its prevalence and contributing factors in Oman remain limited. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of anaemia, haemoglobinopathies and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency among Omani infants aged 9–18 months attending well-baby clinics in Muscat Governorate, Oman. Methods: Between August 2020 and July 2023, we collected and analysed medical records of 768 Omani children, aged 9–18 months, who attended well-baby clinics between January 2018 and December 2019 in 4 of the 11 districts of Oman. The data collected included complete blood count, sickling test, haemoglobin electrophoresis, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The data were analysed using SPSS version 29; differences in continuous variables between 2 groups were assessed using unpaired t-test, comparisons among more than 2 groups were conducted using one-way analysis of variance, Tukey’s honestly significant difference test was used for post hoc comparisons, associations between categorical variables were assessed using chi-square test, and Fisher’s exact test or likelihood ratio test was applied as appropriate. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Overall prevalence of anaemia was 50.5% (95% CI: 46.9–54.1%); 74.5% of the cases were classified as mild and 25.5% as moderate. No severe cases were identified. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency was detected in 27.3% of the children, while abnormal haemoglobin electrophoresis was identified in 27.5% – most commonly sickle cell trait (80.6%), followed by β-thalassaemia trait (13.7%) and sickle cell disease (5.7%). Conclusion: Anaemia was highly prevalent among this Omani population. Integrating laboratory screening results with well-baby clinic data may facilitate early identification and better management.