title: [Micronutrient deficiencies in Brazilian children attending daycare centers: a review of the literature].
abstract: The scope of the study was to review the scientific publications on the nutritional status of iron, vitamin A and zinc among Brazilian children attending daycare centers, focusing on diagnostic methods, the prevalence of respective deficiencies and associated factors. A review of the literature was conducted in the PubMed, LILACS and SciELO databases. Observational studies with random representative samples using biochemical indicators to evaluate the nutritional status of iron, vitamin A and zinc of children attending public daycare centers were included. The average weighted prevalence for anemia and vitamin A deficiency was estimated. The variables associated with anemia were computed. Twenty-one observational studies were included, in which the nutritional status of iron, vitamin A and zinc were analyzed in 17, 4 and 3, respectively. The average weighted prevalence of anemia and vitamin A deficiency were 42.7% and 12.5%, respectively. Young children and children living in less favorable socioeconomic situations represented the main explanatory conditions predominantly associated with the occurrence of anemia. The results suggest a high prevalence of anemia, as well as vitamin A deficiency in Brazilian children attending daycare centers, with etiological prospects focused on infectious diseases.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Campina Grande, PB, Brasil, dixisfigueroa@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dixis Figueroa
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Pedraza
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ana Carolina Dantas
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Rocha
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D006801:Humans; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000172:deficiency; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015032:Zinc / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D018977:Micronutrients; D015032:Zinc