Abstract
Background: Proteinuria and hematuria are two important modifiable risk factors for the
progression of chronic renal failure. The purpose of the present study was to identify the prevalence
of these abnormalities among school aged children undergoing urinary screening.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among school children aged
7-15 years in Zahedan (South East of Iran) in 2003. A total of 1169 children (51% girls & 48.6%
boys) were selected at random using multistage cluster sampling method. The first morning urine
was examined twice by a simple dipstick read based on changes in colour and positivity of
proteinuria and hematuria. Those who had abnormal results in the first screening test with dipstick
were tested again microscopy.
Results: The overall prevalence of urinary abnormalities was 2.2 % among school children.
Proteinuria was three times more frequent in girls compared with boys (1.05% vs. 0.33%). The
proportion of hematuria was also two times higher in girls than boys (2.1% compared with 1%).
Discussion: There is a considerable burden of urinary abnormalities among school children in
Iran. Therefore, a simple dipstick method for the early detection of proteinuria and hematuria has
significant value in identifying asymptomatic school children with possible renal disorders.
progression of chronic renal failure. The purpose of the present study was to identify the prevalence
of these abnormalities among school aged children undergoing urinary screening.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among school children aged
7-15 years in Zahedan (South East of Iran) in 2003. A total of 1169 children (51% girls & 48.6%
boys) were selected at random using multistage cluster sampling method. The first morning urine
was examined twice by a simple dipstick read based on changes in colour and positivity of
proteinuria and hematuria. Those who had abnormal results in the first screening test with dipstick
were tested again microscopy.
Results: The overall prevalence of urinary abnormalities was 2.2 % among school children.
Proteinuria was three times more frequent in girls compared with boys (1.05% vs. 0.33%). The
proportion of hematuria was also two times higher in girls than boys (2.1% compared with 1%).
Discussion: There is a considerable burden of urinary abnormalities among school children in
Iran. Therefore, a simple dipstick method for the early detection of proteinuria and hematuria has
significant value in identifying asymptomatic school children with possible renal disorders.
Keywords
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Copyright
© 2008, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.