Adolescents and anemia

Objective: Anemia in adolescents is a significant health problem caused by multiple factors. With this study, we aimed to investigate anemia aetiology and its frequency among the adolescents.
Material and Method: A total of 74 patients were admitted to Pediatrics Clinic of Istanbul Þiþli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital between January 2012 and August 2013, who were aged between 10-19 years and diagnosed with anemia, were investigated regarding the aetiology.
Results: Female and male ratio were 74.3% and 25.7%, respectively, and the mean age of the patients was 14.7±1.8 years. The most common symptom was fatigue. Red meat consumption was detected to be low in patients who were diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Six of the patients had a history of bleeding. Menorrhagia was present in 23.6% of the females. As a result of certain laboratory tests, 81.1% of the patients were diagnosed with IDA. The aetiological evaluation revealed that the most common reason for the anemia was nutritional. Vitamin B12 deficiency and folic acid deficiency anemia were diagnosed in 13.5% and 1.4% of patients, respectively. Eleven patients underwent endoscopy, and the most common finding was gastritis. Apart from these diagnosis, we reported acute leukaemia in 3 patients, sepsis in 3 patients, hereditary spherocytosis, autoimmune hepatitis, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, a chronic renal failure and cholangitis in one patient each. While 39.2% of the patients were treated with hospitalization, 60.8% of the patients were under outpatient follow-up and treated.
Conclusion: An inappropriate diet and eating habit is the most common aetiology of anemia among the adolescents. Considering that this age group of patients are not under routine health care followup of pediatricians, it is necessary to examine the adolescent for anemia for early diagnosis, with investigating the causes and selecting the appropriate treatment.

Adolesanlar ve anemi

Amaç: Adolesan dönemde anemi birçok faktöre baðlý olarak geliþebilen ciddi bir saðlýk sorunudur. Bu çalýþmada; adolesan dönemde anemileri araþtýrarak etiyolojide yer alan hastalýklarý gözden geçirmeyi ve bu hastalýklarýn sýklýðýný tartýþmayý amaçladýk.
Gereç ve Yöntem: Ýstanbul Þiþli Hamidiye Etfal Eðitim ve Araþtýrma Hastanesi Çocuk Saðlýðý ve Hastalýklarý Kliniði’ne baðlý servis ve polikliniklerde Ocak 2012-Aðustos 2013 tarihleri arasýnda 10-19 yaþ arasý anemi tespit edilen 74 hastanýn etiyolojik yönden araþtýrmasý yapýldý.
Bulgular: Hastalarýn %74.3’ü kýz, %25.7’si erkekti ve yaþ ortalamasý 14.7±1.8 idi. En sýk þikayet halsizlikti. Demir eksikliði tanýsý alan hastalarda kýrmýzý et tüketiminin az olduðu tespit edildi. Kanama öykü- sü 6 hastada vardý. Kýz cinsiyetteki hastalarýn %23.6’sýnda menoraji mevcuttu. Yapýlan laboratuar tetkikleri sonucunda hastalarýn %81.1’ine demir eksikliði anemisi tanýsý kondu. Etiyolojik araþtýrmada konulan tanýlar arasýnda en sýk olaný nütrisyonel demir eksikliði oldu. Hastalarýn %13.5’inde B12 eksikliði tespit edilirken, %1.4’ünde folik asit eksikliði saptandý. Endoskopi 11 hastaya yapýldý ve en sýk gastrit saptandý. Bu tanýlar dýþýnda 3 hasta akut lösemi, 3 hasta sepsis, 1 hasta herediter sferositoz, 1 hasta otoimmun hepatit, 1 hasta otoimmun hemolitik anemi, 1 hasta aplastik anemi, 1 hasta kronik böbrek yetmezliði, 1 hasta kolanjit tanýsý aldý. Hastalarýn %39.2’si servise yatýrýlarak tedavi edilirken %60.8’i ayaktan takip ve tedaviye alýndý.
Sonuç: Adolesan döneminde anemi nedenlerinin baþýnda saðlýksýz beslenme gelmektedir. Çocuk hekimleri olarak bize nadiren baþvuran bu yaþ grubunda saðlýk takiplerini düzenli yapmak, saðlýk sorunlarýný erken tespit edip nedenlerine yönelik araþtýrmayý ve uygun tedaviyi yapabilmek gerekir.