Nutritional profile and prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in children

Abstract

Introduction: Anemia is a condition characterized by low concentration of hemoglobin in the body, caused mainly by lack of iron in food. Objective: To investigate the association between nutritional status and prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in children 6 to 60 months. Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted with 27 children. The variables analyzed were weight, height, hemoglobin, and sociodemographic profile. It was also used a structured questionnaire about their eating habits. Statistical analysis used was Fisher's exact test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: We observed that most children (92.6%) had normal results for hemoglobin, and 40.7% were overweight or obese. Only 11.1% of children were exclusively breastfed until six months. Conclusion: We found a significant association between hemoglobin level and the presence of beans in the daily diet of children studied.