Assessment of Some Haematological and Iron Status Parameters among Primary School Pupils in Abiakpo Ikot Essien, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Iron is an essential micronutrient which plays important roles in human health. This study aimed at evaluating some haematological and iron status parameters of learners from primary schools in Abiakpo Ikot Essien, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. A total of 180 primary school children, consisting of 87 male and 93 female subjects within the age bracket of 2-12 years were used for the study. Informed consent was obtained from the parents/guardians of the subjects, and a well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain relevant information about the subjects. Five (5ml) of venous blood was collected using a standard venepuncture technique from each subject for the determination of haematological parameters using DC sheath flow method using SysmexXE-200 haematology autoanalyzer, and serum iron ferritin, Total iron binding capacity(TIBC) and Soluble transferrin receptor1(sTfR1) using colorimetric method. The haematological and iron status parameters of the subjects were within the standard reference ranges where the mean packed cell volume (PCV) was 33.643.22% with a reference range of 35-55%, the mean haemoglobin (Hb) was 11.74 1.16g/dl with a reference range of 11-17g/dl, Red blood cells (RBC) mean value was 4.69 0.44 x106µl. The red cell indices which are the mean cell volume (MCV) (fl) with mean value of 79.33 7.04 with a standard reference of 80-100, mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) (pg/dl) had a mean value of 28.114.98 with a reference range of 26-34 and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (g/dl) has a mean value of 34.86 0.98 with a reference value of 31-35 were also within the reference ranges. The Iron parameters were also within the reference ranges with sTfR1(mg/ml) having a mean value of 307.40 81.54 with a reference value of 200-360,serum ferritin (ng/ml) had a mean value of 61.684.67 with a reference value of 7-140 and TIBC(µg/dl) having a mean value of 57.4321.46 with a reference value of 100-400.However, based on sex, male pupils had significantly higher mean values of Hb and PCV(11.52 1.30 and 32.973.58 respectively) compared to the female pupils(11.930.97 and 34.29 2.71 respectively).It is concluded that there were no alterations in haematological and iron status parameters in the pupils. The correlation analysis indicated that there was weak significant correlation between the parameters. It is recommended that all relevant bodies should make efforts to maintain good nutrition amongst school children.