Infant nutrition program effectively prevents iron-deficiency anemia in a First Nations community.
Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) has received relatively little attention in Canada, with no national public health initiatives even among high-risk infants. IDA has a high prevalence in First Nations children and has been shown to cause developmental delay. This study is a before/after prevalence survey studying the effect of a public health intervention, conducted on a First Nations reserve off the central coast of British Columbia (BC). We screened for IDA one cohort of infants born January 1993 to August 1994 and between the ages of 6 and 24 months. Twenty-five of a possible 37 infants were screened. We found 13 (52%) of the 25 had anemia, with a hemoglobin less than 100 g/L. The average hemoglobin was 98.9 +/- 19.2 g/L. The subsequent implementation of an infant nutrition program focused on educating parents and encouraging the use of iron-fortified formula for nonbreast-fed infants. In the year following program implementation, the cohort of infants born between September 1994 and September 1995 were screened for IDA when they were between the ages of 6 and 15 months. Twenty-four of 27 infants participated. Only one infant was anemic with a hemoglobin less than 100 g/L. The average hemoglobin was 116.6 +/- 11.6 g/L. The increase in the average hemoglobin and the decrease in the prevalence of anemia were both highly significant (p < .01). We judged our intervention to be very effective and would recommend similar programs for other First Nations communities.
Sawchuk
P
P
United Church Health Services, Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada.
Rauliuk
M
M
Kotaska
A
A
Townsend
S
S
Wilson
E
E
Starr
M
M
D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006285:Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*
D006454:Hemoglobins