Diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in children of Northeast Brazil

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To diagnose iron defi ciency anemia in children. METHODS:The study was conducted with a sample of 301 children aged six to 30 months attending public daycare centers in the city of Recife, Northeast Brazil, in 2004. The diagnoses of anemia were based on a combination of different hematological and biochemical parameters: hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, ferritin, C-reactive protein, transferrin saturation and transferrin receptor. The chi-square test and ANOVA were used in the statistical analysis. RESULTS:Of all children studied, 92.4% had anemia (Hb <110 g/L) and 28.9% had moderate/severe anemia (Hb <90 g/L). Lower levels of hemoglobin were found in children aged 6-17 months. Iron defi ciency was found in 51.5% of children using ferritin (<12 μg/L) as parameter. Taking into consideration the combination of hemoglobin level, ferritin and transferrin receptor, 58.1% had anemia with iron defi ciency, 34.2% had anemia without iron defi ciency and 2.3% had iron defi ciency without anemia. Mean ferritin concentration was signifi cantly higher in children with high C-reactive protein when compared with those with normal levels (22.1 vs. 14.8 μg/L). CONCLUSIONS:The use of several biochemical and hematological parameters allowed to diagnosing iron defi ciency anemia in two thirds of children, suggesting a need to identify other determinants of anemia without iron defi ciency.

Relationship between iron deficiency and anemia in children younger than 4 years

“…Os resultados mostram que a prevalência de ADF é de aproximadamente 50% [5][6][7][8] . No entanto, os poucos estudos que incluíram outros parâmetros para a determinação da DF não discriminaram as diferentes faixas etárias.…”

Iron-deficiency anemia and associated factors among preschool children in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…This result differs from those of studies that also investigated these two conditions [6,30,31]. Castro et al [6] assessed the factors associated with iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia in children aged 6-60 months in an urban area of two municipalities in the state of Acre and identified prevalence of 43.5% of iron depletion, which is more than twice the value found for anemia (20.9%).…”

“…two conditions [6,30,31]. Therefore, our data will, in most cases, be compared with studies that investigated iron-deficiency anemia.…”

“…Castro et al [6] assessed the factors associated with iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia in children aged 6-60 months in an urban area of two municipalities in the state of Acre and identified prevalence of 43.5% of iron depletion, which is more than twice the value found for anemia (20.9%). Carvalho et al [30] investigated 6-30 month old children who attended public daycare centers in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil and found that the prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia (58.1%) was much higher than that of iron depletion (2.3%). Rezende et al [31] studied school children aged 7-15 years in Novo Cruzeiro, a city located in the same region evaluated in the present study, Vale do Jequitinhonha, and found prevalence of anemia of 12.1% and iron depletion of 26.7%.…”

Relação entre deficiência de ferro e anemia em crianças de até 4 anos de idade

“…The results show an IDA prevalence of approximately 50%. [5][6][7][8] However, the few studies that included other parameters to determine ID did not specify the different age groups. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of anemia, ID and IDA in a cohort of children followed from birth at ages 12-16 months and 3-4 years.…”