The relationship between iron deficiency and anemia in Venezuelan children.
The iron status of 3228 subjects from the nutrition survey Proyecto Venezuela was studied. The sample included children from 1 to 16 y of age grouped by age and sex. Values for three indicators of iron status were compared: hemoglobin concentration, serum ferritin concentration, and percentage saturation of serum transferrin. In all groups there was a strong overlap in the hemoglobin concentration distribution curves for non-iron-deficient and iron-deficient subjects classified as such according to the other two indexes. The prevalence of iron deficiency ranged from 35% in 1-3 y olds to 10% in adolescent males, the values being almost identical in the nonanemic group compared with the total population. In the different groups, 80-97% of the subjects with abnormal values of at least one of these two indexes were not anemic. The difficulties involved in establishing a state of iron deficiency according to these indexes are discussed.
Taylor
P G
PG
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Caracas, Venezuela.
Martínez-Torres
C
C
Méndez-Castellano
H
H
Bosch
V
V
Leets
I
I
Tropper
E
E
Layrisse
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000747:Anemia, Hypochromic / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D014168:Transferrin / Q000032:analysis; D014687:Venezuela / Q000453:epidemiology
D006454:Hemoglobins; D014168:Transferrin; D005293:Ferritins