The prevalence of anemia decreased in Mexican preschool and school-age children from 1999 to 2006.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the distribution of anemia in children, based on information from Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006 (ENSANUT 2006) and Mexican National Nutrition Survey 1999 (ENN-99), and examine the association of anemia with potentially explanatory variables.


METHODS
Adjusted prevalence and means as well as associations with potentially explanatory variables were assessed by multiple linear and logistic regression models for complex samples.


RESULTS
From 1999 to 2006, the prevalence of anemia decreased 13.8 percentage points (pp) in toddlers and 7.8 pp in children 24-35 months of age; it also decreased 0.7 pp/year in urban and rural populations, 1.8 pp/year in indigenous and 0.61 pp/year in non-indigenous toddlers, 1.5 pp/year in children 5-8 years of age and 0.78 pp/year in children 9-11 years of age. In toddlers served by Oportunidades, Hb was inversely associated with indigenous ethnicity (p=0.1) and they had a lower risk of anemia (OR=0.002). In school-age children, age (OR=0.98), affiliation to Liconsa (OR=0.42) and living in the central region (OR=0.56) were protective factors for anemia.


CONCLUSIONS
The national prevalence of anemia in Mexico has decreased in the past seven years, especially in toddlers. Being a beneficiary of Liconsa or Oportunidades was protective for anemia.
Villalpando
Salvador
S
Centro de Investigación en Nutrición y Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México. svillalp@insp.mx
Shamah-Levy
Teresa
T
García-Guerra
Armando
A
Mundo-Rosas
Verónica
V
Domínguez
Clara
C
Mejía-Rodríguez
Fabiola
F
D000740:Anemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D013997:Time Factors