Iron, folate and vitamin B12 nutrition and anaemia in black preschool children in the northern Transvaal.
The prevalence of anaemia and deficiencies of iron, folate and vitamin B12 were investigated in 140 rural black preschool children aged 3-5 years living in five different villages in the Letaba area, near Tzaneen. Anaemia was highly prevalent, 39.2% of the children having haemoglobin levels below 11.1 g/dl. Approximately 10% were considered to be iron-deficient. On the basis of subnormal red cell folate values, 1 in 4 children was folate-deficient, suggesting the need for intervention at the community level such as enrichment of the staple foodstuff, maize meal, with folic acid.
D001741:Black or African American; D000747:Anemia, Hypochromic / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D044383:Black People; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D005494:Folic Acid Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population; D013019:South Africa; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood*; D014806:Vitamin B 12 Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology
D005293:Ferritins; D005492:Folic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12