Household food insecurity and its association with anaemia in Mexican children: National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012

• Published in: International journal of public health Vol. 64; no. 8; pp. 1215 - 1222
• Main Authors: Palacios-Rodríguez, Guiuly Oddet, Mundo-Rosas, Verónica, Parra-Cabrera, Socorro, García-Guerra, Armando, Galindo-Gómez, Carlos, Méndez Gómez-Humarán, Ignacio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Anemia - epidemiology; Child, Preschool; Environmental Health; Female; Food Supply - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Infant; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mexico - epidemiology; Nutrition Surveys; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Original Article; Prevalence; Public Health; Mexico; Mexico; Anaemia; Preschool children; Nutrition survey; Food supply; Food security
• ISSN: 1661-8556; 1661-8564
• DOI: 10.1007/s00038-019-01305-1

Objectives To assess the association between household food insecurity (FI) and the presence of anaemia among Mexican children who were between 12 and 59 months old, and to determine whether this association differs by geographical regions. Methods We analysed 7468 children of ages between 12 and 59 months, based on data from the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey ( ENSANUT 2012 ). Haemoglobin was measured in capillary blood. Household FI levels were defined according to the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale. An ordinal logistic regression model was developed to assess the relationship between FI and anaemia. The interaction between geographical regions and FI was determined. Results The highest proportion of anaemia occurred in children with severe household FI (24.3%), compared to those from households with food security (21.2%). Children from severe FI households have a higher adjusted prevalence of anaemia than those from households with food security. FI and anaemia were associated mainly among children residing in the southern region of Mexico. Conclusions Our findings can contribute to a better understanding of FI and anaemia in children and to strengthen interventions to address these problems.