The relationship between iron deficiency and anemia in Venezuelan children

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 58; no. 2; pp. 215 - 218
• Main Authors: Taylor, PG, Martínez-Torres, C, Méndez-Castellano, H, Bosch, V, Leets, I, Tropper, E, Layrisse, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Elsevier Inc 01.08.1993; American Society for Clinical Nutrition; American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age Factors; Anemia; Anemia, Hypochromic - blood; Anemia, Hypochromic - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; children; Children & youth; Female; Ferritins - blood; Hemoglobin concentration; Hemoglobins - analysis; Humans; Infant; Iron; Iron - deficiency; Male; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Nutrition; Other nutritional diseases (malnutrition, nutritional and vitamin deficiencies...); Polls & surveys; Prevalence; serum ferritin; Sex Factors; Transferrin - analysis; transferrin saturation; Venezuela - epidemiology; South America; Venezuela; America; transferrin saturation; serum ferritin; iron deficiency; children; Hemoglobin concentration; anemia; Human; Transferrin; Anemia; Deficiency; Saturation; Ferritin; Biological marker; Hemopathy; Iron; Epidemiology; Concomitant disease; Hemoglobin; Serum; Malnutrition; Child; Nutritional status; Public health
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/58.2.215

The iron status of 3228 subjects from the nutrition survey Proyecto Venezuela was studied. The sample included children from 1 to 16 y of age grouped by age and sex. Values for three indicators of iron status were compared: hemoglobin concentration, serum ferritin concentration, and percentage saturation of serum transferrin. In all groups there was a strong overlap in the hemoglobin concentration distribution curves for non-iron-deficient and iron-deficient subjects classified as such according to the other two indexes. The prevalence of iron deficiency ranged from 35% in 1–3 y olds to 10% in adolescent males, the values being almost identical in the nonanemic group compared with the total population. In the different groups, 80–97% of the subjects with abnormal values of at least one of these two indexes were not anemic. The difficulties involved in establishing a state of iron deficiency according to these indexes are discussed.