Daniel J Hruschka1, Anne M Williams2,3, Zuguo Mei2, Eva Leidman2, Parminder S Suchdev2,4,5, Melissa F Young5, Sorrel Namaste6. 1. School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. Daniel.Hruschka@asu.edu. 2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. 3. McKing Consulting Corporation, Atlanta, GA, USA. 4. Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. 5. Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. 6. The DHS Program, ICF International, Rockville, MD, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Valid measurement of hemoglobin is important for tracking and targeting interventions. This study compares hemoglobin distributions between surveys matched by country and time from The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) Program and the Biomarkers Reflecting Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia (BRINDA) project. METHODS: Four pairs of nationally representative surveys measuring hemoglobin using HemoCue® with capillary (DHS) or venous (BRINDA) blood were matched by country and time. Data included 17,719 children (6-59 months) and 21,594 non-pregnant women (15-49 y). Across paired surveys, we compared distributional statistics and anemia prevalence. RESULTS: Surveys from three of the four countries showed substantial differences in anemia estimates (9 to 31 percentage point differences) which were consistently lower in BRINDA compared to DHS (2 to 31 points for children, 1 to 16 points for women). CONCLUSION: We identify substantial differences in anemia estimates from surveys of similar populations. Further work is needed to identify the cause of these differences to improve the robustness of anemia estimates for comparing populations and tracking improvements over time.
BACKGROUND: Valid measurement of hemoglobin is important for tracking and targeting interventions. This study compares hemoglobin distributions between surveys matched by country and time from The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) Program and the Biomarkers Reflecting Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia (BRINDA) project. METHODS: Four pairs of nationally representative surveys measuring hemoglobin using HemoCue® with capillary (DHS) or venous (BRINDA) blood were matched by country and time. Data included 17,719 children (6-59 months) and 21,594 non-pregnant women (15-49 y). Across paired surveys, we compared distributional statistics and anemia prevalence. RESULTS: Surveys from three of the four countries showed substantial differences in anemia estimates (9 to 31 percentage point differences) which were consistently lower in BRINDA compared to DHS (2 to 31 points for children, 1 to 16 points for women). CONCLUSION: We identify substantial differences in anemia estimates from surveys of similar populations. Further work is needed to identify the cause of these differences to improve the robustness of anemia estimates for comparing populations and tracking improvements over time.
Entities:
Keywords:
Anemia; Biomarkers reflecting inflammation and nutritional determinants of Anemia; Blood collection; Data quality; Demographic and health surveys; Hemoglobin; Micronutrient surveys; Nutrition surveys
Authors: Eunice Turawa; Oluwatoyin Awotiwon; Muhammad Ali Dhansay; Annibale Cois; Demetre Labadarios; Debbie Bradshaw; Victoria Pillay-van Wyk Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-12-04 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Gretchen A Stevens; Christopher J Paciorek; Monica C Flores-Urrutia; Elaine Borghi; Sorrel Namaste; James P Wirth; Parminder S Suchdev; Majid Ezzati; Fabian Rohner; Seth R Flaxman; Lisa M Rogers Journal: Lancet Glob Health Date: 2022-05 Impact factor: 38.927