Factors associated with anemia and vitamin A deficiency in Brazilian children under 5 years old: Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition (ENANI-2019)

Abstract

Factors associated with anemia and vitamin A deficiency were investigated in 7,716 children 6-59 months of age studied in the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition (ENANI-2019). We adopted a hierarchical approach based on a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) theoretical model with three levels, stratifying by age (6-23; 24-59 months). Prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were estimated. Enabling determinants: a higher prevalence of anemia was observed in children 6-23 months whose mothers had ≤ 7 years of schooling (PR = 1.92; 95%CI: 1.10; 3.34), < 20 years old (PR = 2.47; 95%CI: 1.34; 4.56) or 20-30 years old (PR = 1.95; 95%CI: 1.11; 3.44), mixed-race (PR = 1.57; 95%CI: 1.06; 2.23); and in children 24-59 months in the North Region (PR = 3.11; 95%CI: 1.58; 6.13). A higher prevalence for vitamin A deficiency was observed in children 6-23 months from Central-West (PR = 2.32; 95%CI: 1.33; 4.05), and in children 24-59 months living in the North (PR = 1.96; 95%CI: 1.16; 3.30), South (PR = 3.07; 95%CI: 1.89; 5.01), and Central-West (PR = 1.91; 95%CI: 1.12; 3.25) and whose mothers were 20-34 years (PR = 1.62; 95%CI: 1.11; 2.35). Underlying determinants: the presence of more than one child < 5 years old in the household was associated with a higher prevalence of anemia (PR = 1.61; 95%CI: 1.15; 2.25) and vitamin A deficiency (PR = 1.82; 95%CI: 1.09; 3.05) in children 6-23 months. Immediate determinants: consumption of 1-2 groups of ultra-processed foods in children 24-59 months (PR = 0.44; 95%CI: 0.25; 0.81) and lack of breastfeeding in the day before in children 6-23 months (PR = 0.56; 95%CI: 0.36; 0.95) were associated with lower prevalence of anemia and vitamin A deficiency. Public policies focused on geographically and socially vulnerable groups are needed to promote equity.

Early introduction of ultra-processed foods is associated with overweight and anaemia in socially vulnerable Brazilian children

“…This situation was highlighted in a systematic review conducted by Petridi et al (44) , which identified a relationship between UPF consumption and overweight but pointed out the need to evaluate the consumption of specific types of UPF and their repercussions on health. In line with the results found in this study, an investigation also carried out with Brazilian children under the age of five, but which did not focus on the context of social vulnerability, identified that the consumption of UPF was associated with a lower prevalence of anaemia (45) . Thus, there is a clear need to evaluate specific population groups due to the different repercussions that could be identified.…”