Efetividade da aplicação do sulfato ferroso em doses semanais no Programa Saúde da Família em Caruaru, Pernambuco, Brasil

Abstract

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an experimental project for combating anemia in children ages 6-23 months using weekly doses of iron sulfate within the Family Health Program. In 1999, the Brazilian Ministry of Health began an experimental program to combat anemia in 300,000 children from 512 municipalities in the Northeast of the country. Children received a weekly dose of 50mg of elementary iron for approximately 24 weeks. Two hundred and ninety-three children ages 6-23 months from the urban and rural areas of the municipality of Caruaru in Pernambuco State were evaluated. Before the trial, mean hemoglobin was 10.1 (+/- 0.98) g/dl, and 77.5% of the children were anemic. Following treatment, mean hemoglobin rose to 11.1 (+/- 0.87) g/dl, while the prevalence of anemia fell to 40.3%. This strategy represents a promising tool to reduce prevalence and to control severe forms of anemia in children.

Weekly iron supplementation reduces anemia prevalence by 1/3 in preschool children

“…This important improvement helped reduce by 1/3, in only 4 months, the prevalence of anemia (from 41% to 17%) in the total sample, and tended to control and prevent the deficiency, depending on compliance. This reduction to more than half the initial prevalence of anemia agrees with weekly supplementation studies in pre-school children conducted in Brazil 4,11 and in other developing countries 9,10,14,15 . The pioneering study with Chinese pre-school children 8 showed that the correction of hemoglobin levels attained 100%.…”

“…It is the last stage of a relatively long process of deterioration of body iron levels and influences motor development and immune systems of pre-school children, perhaps even in the sub-clinical phase, causing irreversible damage 1 . In Brazil, the prevalence can be extremely high [2][3][4] , even in more developed areas, by far exceeding malnutrition from caloric deprivation.…”

Efetividade de diferentes estratégias de intervenção com ferro nos níveis de hemoglobina e ferritina em escolares de Teresina, Piauí, Brasil

“…A literatura tem mostrado que doses de sulfato ferroso administradas semanalmente ou, pelo menos, duas vezes/semana, parecem apresentar melhor efetividade quando comparada à diária, em virtude do esquema posológico ser melhor tolerado pelos pacientes e, consequentemente, melhor adesão 7 . No entanto, em termos de eficá-cia, os resultados são ainda conflitantes 15 .…”

“…This study evaluated the effectiveness of supplementation with ferrous sulfate and iron bis-glycinate chelate on hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels among schoolchildren (7)(8)(9)(10)(11) …”

“…Resultados similares vêm se confirmando na experimentação com humanos 7,8 . Com relação à fortificação de alimentos, uma estratégia que vem sendo testada é o uso do composto quelato 9 , onde duas moléculas de aminoácido são utilizadas como ligantes, para impedir a ação de substâncias inibidoras.…”