Abstract

NAVIA BUENO, Maria del Pilar et al. Pesquisa de anemia y su relación con el rendimiento escolar. Cuad. - Hosp. Clín. [online]. 2007, vol.52, n.2, pp.09-14. ISSN 1562-6776.

RESEARCH QUESTION What is the frequency of anemia in school children from 13 to 18 years of age and its relationship with academic achievement in school in La Paz during the year 2006? OBJECTIVE To assess the frequency of anemia in school children from 13 to 18 years of age and its relationship with academic achievement in school. DESIGN Descriptive, cross sectional study. PLACE Unit of Clinical Epidemiology (hematology laboratory) of the Institute of Investigation in Health and Development (IINSAD) and private schools of La Paz. PARTICIPANTS 200 adolescent school children 13 to 18 years old, of both sexes, of private schools in La Paz. METHODS Previous to the procedure, the consent of the parents or tutors was obtained for participation in the study. For each one of the children a questionnaire was filled out with personal information, like age, sex and the general grade point average, a general physical exam was performed and a sample of capillary blood was taken in capillary tubes with anticoagulant. Specific hematologic tests of the red series were carried out, obtaining hematocrit values, hemoglobin, blood group and Rh factor. RESULTS The average age was 15.43 years, 51.5% of the children were females (n: 103) and 48.5% males (n: 97). The average hematocrit of males was 50.8%, SD 3.48, IC 95%, and of females 47%, SD 2.79, IC 95%. The mean (percentile 50) hematocrit was grater in males than in females. The average hemoglobin in males was 16.06 g/dl, SD. 1.09, IC 95%., in females 14.71, SD 1.07, IC 95%. The distribution of the blood groups is shown in Fig.2, 98.5% (n=197) were Rh positive and 1.5% (n=3) Rh negative. The general grade point average was 48.51. For the relationship between hemoglobin average and academic achievement we found a p value > 0.6746. CONCLUSIONS From the statistical analysis of significance we conclude that there does not exist a significant relationship between anemia and academic achievement in this population group.

Keywords : Pesquisa de anemia y su relación con el rendimiento escolar.