Prevalência da anemia e fatores associados em crianças de seis a 59 meses de Pernambuco

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To estimate the prevalence of anemia and to identify its associated factors in children aged 6-59 months. METHODS:This was a cross-sectional study on data from the Third Health and Nutrition Survey of the State of Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil, with a representative sample of 1,403 children from urban and rural areas. Anemia was diagnosed by means of hemoglobin assays. Multivariate analysis was performed though a hierarchical model, using robust-variance Poisson regression to estimate the prevalence ratio as a function of the following variables: biological factors, morbidity, child nutritional state, socioeconomic factors, housing, sanitation and maternal factors. RESULTS:The weighted prevalence of anemia was 32.8% overall: 31.5% in urban areas and 36.6% in rural areas. In urban areas, anemia was signifi cantly associated with maternal education, consumer goods, number of children less than fi ve years old in the home, drinking water treatment, maternal age, maternal anemia and the child's age. In rural areas, only maternal age and the child's age were signifi cantly associated with anemia. CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence of anemia in children in Pernambuco was similar in urban and rural areas. The factors associated with anemia that are presented here should be taken into consideration in planning effective measures for its control.

Magnitude, tendência temporal e fatores associados à anemia em crianças do Estado da Paraíba

“…4 Although the variable maternal age lost its strength of association in the regression analysis, children whose mothers were younger than 20 years were more susceptible to anemia. Similar fi ndings from other studies 10,13,20 lead us to suppose that these mothers' lack of maturity and knowledge infl uence the inadequate choice of complementary foods. Furthermore, adolescent mothers have higher probability of having preterm children, with low birth weight and, consequently, lower hemoglobin reserves.…”

“…The prevalence of anemia observed in the State of Paraíba (36.5%) was similar to the prevalences described in studies conducted in States of the Northeast region of Brazil. 10,16 Analyzing the temporal trend of anemia in the studied ecological context, the stabilization in the prevalence of anemia in the period from 1992 to 2007 shows a trend profi le that is signifi cantly different from that of the period between 1982 and 1992, when there was a sharp increase in the problem, which has also been reported by Oliveira et al 17 This trend was somewhat unexpected, as its prevalence was expected to decrease, in consonance with what has been observed in temporal trend studies of other nutritional defi ciencies, like protein-energy malnutrition. A possible explanation for this unexpected behavior would be the fact that, although suffi ciently adequate in quantitative and energetic terms, these children's nutrition is defi cient in iron, mainly that of high bioavailability, to meet their physiological needs.…”

“…3,9,10,19,24 This greater vulnerability might be attributed, mainly, to the accelerated growth and consequent increase in the iron needs in the fi rst years of life. 9 After the sixth month of age, with the end of the iron reserves that were acquired in the uterus, nutrition becomes fundamental to supply the mineral.…”

“…16 The greater risk of anemia in children with unfavorable housing conditions (number of co-inhabitants and number of rooms in the house) might be explained by the reduction in these families' economic accessibility, which leads to a per capita reduction in foods and to the consequent reduction in iron intake. 10 The fact that anemia is more prevalent in households with lower number of rooms might be associated with factors that contribute to a greater dissemination of infectious diseases and intestinal parasitosis. 13 This is a consequence of confi nement and overpopulation, which, in turn, contribute to the increase in insalubrity.…”

Factores asociados con la anemia en niños menores de tres años en Perú: análisis de la Encuesta Demográfica y de Salud Familiar, 2007-2013

“…El primero estaría ligado a los conocimientos y las habilidades adquiridas para la crianza y el cuidado de los hijos, mientras que el segundo estaría vinculado con el empoderamiento de la mujer como resultado del nivel de educación alcanzado. Ambos mecanismos influirían en las decisiones de la mujer sobre los recursos destinados al cuidado de sus niños (salud, higiene, alimentación) y de ella misma, durante y después del embarazo (11,23), y podrían explicar la presencia simultánea de anemia en el niño y en la madre (7,24).…”