Anemia in children under 3 years of age in public day care centers

Abstract

Objective: to study the prevalence of anemia in children aged less than 36 months in public day care centers in the city of Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.Methods: cross-sectional study with all children (n=271) less than 36 months of age who attended public day care centers in mid-1997. Children were evaluated as to their hemoglobin levels (venous blood, analyzed at the Central State Laboratory) and anthropometric indicators (weight/age, height/age, weight/height).Results: a high prevalence (63%) of anemia associated with age, weight and height deficit, and time of admittance at kindergarten was observed. The prevalence of malnutrition was 0.8% according to the weight/height ratio, 5.0% according to weight/age deficit, and showed an inadequacy of 10.3% as to the height/age ratio. Thus, the percentage of anemic children was six times higher than the height deficit and twelve times higher than the weight deficit. Malnutrition was not in fact associated with anemia, but at extreme anthropometric cut-off points of height and weight for age (< -2 z score), there is an association between these conditions. Conclusion: the high prevalence of anemia is regarded as a severe public health problem among preschool children in the city of Cuiabá.J Pediatr (Rio J) 2002; 78 (1): 50-56: iron-deficiency anemia, epidemiology, child day care centers. ResumoObjetivo: estudar a prevalência de anemia em crianças menores de 36 meses de idade, freqüentando creches públicas de Cuiabá, em período integral.Métodos: trata-se de estudo transversal, com o universo de crianças (n=271) menores de 36 meses de idade, presentes nas creches públicas em meados de 1997, avaliadas quanto à concentração de hemoglobina (sangue venoso, analisado no Laboratório Central do Estado) e indicadores antropométricos (peso/idade, altura/idade, peso/altura).Resultados: foi encontrada elevada prevalência de anemia (63%) e de anemia grave (22,5%). A anemia mostrou-se associada com idade, déficit ponderal e estatural e com tempo de ingresso na creche. A prevalência de desnutrição (< -2 z-score) foi de 0,8% de acordo com o índice de peso/altura, 5,0% segundo peso/idade, e 10,3% de inadequação na altura/idade. A proporção de crianças anêmicas foi, portanto, 6 vezes maior do que o déficit de altura e 12 vezes maior que o déficit ponderal. A desnutrição, em geral, não apresentava-se associada com anemia, mas, tomando-se como pontode-corte valores extremos de déficits antropométricos (< -2 z-score), seja de altura ou de peso para idade, percebe-se associação com anemia.Conclusões: a elevada prevalência de anemia caracteriza a situação como um grave problema de saúde pública entre os pré-escolares de Cuiabá.

Effectiveness of Fortification of Drinking Water with Iron and Vitamin C in the Reduction of Anemia and Improvement of Nutritional Status in Children Attending Day-Care Centers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

“…The prevalence of anemia in the present study (29.3%) was similar to that found by Almeida et al [22] in 184 children aged between 12 and 59.9 months who were cared for on a full-time basis in five day-care centers in the city of Jardinópolis, state of São Paulo, but different from that found in other studies of children in day-care centers [4,5,14,23].…”

“…In Brazil, according to a recent meta-analysis, anemia is considered to be a serious public health problem, affecting 53% of children under 5 years of age [3]. Regional studies in Brazil confirm the high prevalence of anemia; a study conducted in day-care centers of the city of Cuiabá among 271 children younger than 36 months found a prevalence of anemia of 63% [4], and a study conducted in day-care centers of São Paulo among 330 children aged between 6 and 75 months found a prevalence of 68.8% [5].…”

Agreement assessment between hemoglobin and hematocrit to detect anemia prevalence in children less than 5 years old

“…This is a cross sectional study carried out in 2008 including 100 children less than 5 years old who attended three public day care centers in the city of Cuiabá, a city located in the Center-West region of Brazil, state of Mato Grosso, with an estimated population of 569.830 inhabitants. A previous study showed high prevalence (63%) of anemia among children aged less than 36 months in public day care centers of Cuiabá 10 .…”

Estado nutricional e consumo de energia e nutrientes de pré-escolares que frequentam creches no município de Manaus, Amazonas: existem diferenças entre creches públicas e privadas?

“…Historically, there have been difficulties obtaining permission from private institutions to conduct studies on their premises. This has meant that the picture of nutritional status of children has been partial since higher social economic classes were underrepresented, given that only children from the less privileged social economic classes tend to go to public daycare centers (27) . In this study, it was found that the dietary intakes of children at public and private day care centers did not in general differ in terms of energy, macronutrient and micronutrient content.…”