SUMMARY
Prevalence and factors associated to anemia and iron deficiency in 18-to 24-month old infants
A transversal study was carried out with 101 18-to 24-month old infants, attended at public health services in Viçosa, MG, Brazil, The objective of this study was to verify the prevalence and factors associated to anemia and iron deficiency among infants. Data were obtained by interviews of the infants’ parents or guardians at their households. Hemoglobin and ferritin analyses were peformed using an automatic counter and the immunometric dosage method, respectively. Feces samples were analyzed by the Hoffman, Faust and Ritchie methods. Anemia was characterized by hemoglobin concentration and iron deficiency by ferritin. For dietary practice, the 24-hour recall was used. Linear regression and logistics analyses were conducted to evaluate the variables associated to hemoglobin and iron deficiency, respectively. Anemia, iron deficiency and intestinal parasite prevalences were 30.1; 38.4, and 21%, respectively. The number of household members, age infants were introduced to juices/or fruit, mother’s level of instruction, and total breastfeeding period were associated to the levels of hemoglobin plasma. The associated variables for iron deficiency were milk consumption near meals and number of household members.

Keywords: Anemia, iron deficiency, infant nutrition, infant, iron.



Recibido: 29/12/2005
Aceptado: 04/08/2006

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