Evaluation of the hemoglobin cutoff point for anemia in adult women residents of different altitudinal levels in Peru

Background Anemia prevalence is high in countries where high proportion of the population lives at high altitude (HA) due perhaps to the unsuitability hemoglobin correction factor proposed by the WHO. The present study has been designed to evaluate a new approach to establish thresholds of hemoglobin (Hb) when defining anemia at HA. Materials CI95% 0.858–0.86) for the diagnosis of anemia using serum ferritin as the gold standard. Anemia prevalence was higher when using WHO-corrected Hb, 27%, and Silubonde’s criteria, 41% (Hb cut-off of 11.10, 12.73, 15.80 and 16.60 g/dl for altitudes of 130, 150, 3800 and 4300 meters, respectively), than using uncorrected Hb to define anemia (7.7%). Serum Ferritin and CaO 2 values are lower only in the group with anemia defined with uncorrected Hb than in the groups of anemia using the WHO-corrected Hb or the Silubonde´s criteria. Conclusions The correction factor of hemoglobin for altitude of residence overestimates the prevalence of anemia in adult women. Likewise, CaO 2 could be a potential marker to determine the transport of oxygen in LA and HA populations. Further studies in adult men are required to confirm the present findings.