Prevalence of iron deficiency in children aged 9-24 mo from a large urban area of Argentina

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Argentina has been largely considered as having an adequate diet in terms of iron availability. However, children aged 9–24 mo do not meet requirements from their regular diet. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of iron deficiency in a representative sample of children living in Greater Buenos Aires. Hematologic indicators were measured in venous blood from 384 children. Weighted incidence of anemia was 46.7%. Mean corpuscular volume was less than 73 fL in 28.2% of subjects, free erythrocyte protoporphyrin was greater than 1.77 mumol/L erythrocytes in 57.1%, and serum ferritin was less than 12 micrograms/L in 60.2%.incidence of two or three abnormal values for iron status indicators was 46.1%. This extremely high incidence of anemia is associated with low iron intakes (5.6 +/- 3.5 mg/d means +/- SD), early introduction of cow milk, and low consumption of iron-fortified foods and iron supplements.