Effect of dietary factors on anaemia among rural elderly women in south-west China: a case-control study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the possible dietary risk factors for anaemia in rural elderly women.


METHODS
Case-control study conducted in 2005. Cases and matched controls were interviewed in person to elicit information on lifestyle, diet and individual health. Main foods and nutrients were calculated by three 24 h recalls; intake data of tea, edible oils and spices were from an FFQ.


METHODS
Fourteen villages in two counties of Guangxi Province, south-west China.


METHODS
Four hundred and twenty anaemic cases and 433 matched controls, aged 50-75 years.


RESULTS
The mean consumption of animal foods for cases (82.4 g/d) was significantly lower than for controls (91.0 g/d), similarly for egg consumption (3.8 g/d for cases and 5.8 g/d for controls; P < 0.05). The absolute value of the Dietary Balance Index, low bound score (DBI_LBS) was significantly higher for cases than for controls (P < 0.05). Intakes of energy, protein, carbohydrate, vitamin A (retinol equivalents, RE), vitamin B1, riboflavin and Ca were significantly lower in cases than in controls (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in Fe intake between the two groups. High intake of vitamin A (RE) was inversely associated with anaemia (quartile 4 v. quartile 1: OR = 0.6, P for linear trend = 0.02). The absolute value of DBI_LBS was positively related to anaemia (quartile 4 v. quartile 1: OR = 0.4, P for linear trend < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
For rural elderly women in south-west China, anaemia had a strong positive association with undernutrition and a negative association with vitamin A intake. Dietary Fe intake was not found to be an independent risk factor for anaemia.
Meng
Liping
L
Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 Nanwei Road, Xuanwu District, Beijing 100050, People's Republic of China.
Liu
Jun
J
Zhang
Jian
J
Wang
Chunrong
C
Man
Qingqing
Q
Li
Lixiang
L
D000368:Aged; D000740:Anemia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D019266:Iron, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008019:Life Style; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000150:complications*; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D006454:Hemoglobins; D019266:Iron, Dietary