IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA IN RELATION TO PINCH STRENGTH AND HAND DEXTERITY IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Anemia is a major public health problem among preschool-aged children. The evidence demonstrated that early childhood anemia is a strong predictor of adulthood anemia (Gessner, 2009). According to Egypt's Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), prevalence rates of anemia in children aged 6-59 months ranged from 23% to 45% (EDHS, 2014). It is assumed that 50% of the cases of anemia are due to ID (Aref and Khalifa, 2019). The major health problem in Egypt is ID that affects 41.2% of children aged \<5years (El-Asheer et al., 2021). The total prevalence of IDA in the Nile Delta region was 17.19% of the children (El-Shanshory et al., 2021). Iron is a trace element that is essential to form hemoglobin in red blood cells and to carry oxygen to peripheral tissues. In addition, iron plays essential functions in the mitochondria, which are crucial for regulating energy metabolism in the skeletal muscle (Kang and Li, 2012). And low iron levels limit oxygen bioavailability in the peripheral tissues, including skeletal muscle (Jolly et al., 2001).Yu-mi et al., (2020) found a low handgrip strength in anemic patients. Also, ID can impaired brain energy metabolism, along with hypo-myelination and impaired dopamine signaling, is consistently described as one of the mechanistic causes of the neurodevelopmental deficits associated with early-life ID (Thomas et al., 2020). HYPOTHESES: There is a relation between IDA and pinch strength and hand dexterity in preschool children. RESEARCH QUESTION: Is there a relation between IDA and pinch strength and hand dexterity in preschool children? The purpose of the current study is to find the relation between IDA and: 1. Pinch grip strength (tripod and tip to tip grip strength). 2. Hand dexterity in preschool children.