Prevalence and Pattern of Anaemia Amongst Medical Students In A Tertiary Educational Institution in Southern Nigeria

Introduction: Anaemia is a major global health problem affecting all age groups in a population and affects mainly developing countries. Considering the rising burden of anaemia in our country and the paucity of literarure on anaemia among medical students in our clime, the present study was carried out to detect prevalence of anaemia in undergraduate medical students of Delta State University, Abraka and to determine the severity. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out among 171 undergraduate medical students, comprisisng of 105 males and 66 females. Full blood count was processed using automated blood cell counter (Sysmex Haematology Autoanalyser model KN21). A peripheral blood smear was studied for cell morphology. Results were analysed using the Statistical Package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results: The prevalence of anaemia was 29.2% among the study group. Males were more affected than females (70.0% vs 30.0%). The prevalence was highest in students in their fourth year in medical school (34.0%). All students with anaemia had a mild form and were asymptomatic. There was a negative corelation with anaemia and age group, as students within the youngest age group were mostly affected. Morphologically, microcytic hypochromic and normocytic normochromic picture were dominant. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of anaemia in undergraduate medical students and regular screening excercises are required to prevent symptomatic episodes of anaemia.