title: Prevalence of iron deficiency in children aged 9-24 mo from a large urban area of Argentina.
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.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Estudios Sobre Nutrición Infantil, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gnazzo
mesh_terms: D000747:Anemia, Hypochromic / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005296:Ferrous Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food / Q000592:standards; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007501:Iron / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008892:Milk; D008954:Models, Biological; D012307:Risk Factors; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D005296:Ferrous Compounds; D006454:Hemoglobins; C020748:ferrous sulfate; D007501:Iron