Hemoglobin and Hematocrit Values of Adolescents

Abstract

Using height-weight and hemoglobin-hematocrit values to estimate nutritional status, 268 consecutive adolescent patients from low-income families were evaluated at the adolescent clinic of the University of Alabama Medical Center. Only four of the 123 boys and six of the 145 had hemoglobin values less than 11 Gm./100 ml. of blood, and in only one patient was the anemia due solely to iron deficiency. White boys and girls had higher hemoglobin and. hematocrit values than Negro boys and girls. The mean hemoglobin values from this group of low-income adolescents were similar to those from surveys of Minnesota farm boys and girls and caf adolescents attending a high-income private school in New York City. A number of other observations of practical clinical value are discussed in the text.