Anemia in Children under Five Years Old in Eastern Cuba, 2005-2011.
INTRODUCTION Anemia is the main nutritional problem in Cuban preschool children, prompting several interventions to prevent and control it. An enhanced national strategy was established in 2008, and particular attention paid to the eastern provinces, the region with greatest challenges in social det...
| Publicado en: | MEDICC Review Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 16 - 24 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba
Jan2014
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=104015208&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 104015208 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 15273172 903V jtl: MEDICC Review issn: 15273172 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jan2014 vid: 16 iid: 1 pid: 54282 pub: Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba place: Oakland, California artinfo: ui: 104015208 94008812 10.37757/mr2014.v16.n1.5 NLM24487671 104015208 ppf: 16 ppct: 8 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Anemia in Children under Five Years Old in Eastern Cuba, 2005-2011. aug: au: Pita, Gisela M. Jiménez, Santa Basabe, Beatriz García, René G. Macías, Consuelo Selva, Lisette Hernández, Clarisa Cruz, Margarita Herrera, Roxana O¿Farrill, Regla Calderius, Isabel Paulí, Karelia Leyva, Moraima Arocha, Caridad Herrera, Dania affil: Associate professor and researcher, Nutrition and Food Hygiene Institute (INHA), Havana, Cuba. sug: subj: Anemia Epidemiology Cuba Human Child, Preschool Cross Sectional Studies Hemoglobins Blood Prevalence Odds Ratio Confidence Intervals Anemia Etiology Descriptive Research Cluster Sample Descriptive Statistics Child, Preschool: 2-5 years ab: INTRODUCTION Anemia is the main nutritional problem in Cuban preschool children, prompting several interventions to prevent and control it. An enhanced national strategy was established in 2008, and particular attention paid to the eastern provinces, the region with greatest challenges in social determinants of health. OBJECTIVE Determine anemia prevalence in children aged 6-59 months in Cuba's five eastern provinces in three separate years within a decade, as well as association of anemia with epidemiological and nutritional factors, to assess impact of Cuba's Comprehensive Plan for Prevention and Control of Iron-Deficiency Anemia in Cuba. METHODS Cross-sectional studies of children aged 6-59 months (completed) were conducted in 2005, 2008 and 2011. Hemoglobin levels were measured to diagnose anemia (hemoglobin <110 g/L) and data were collected on independent variables such as age, sex, area of residence (urban or rural), daycare center enrollment, birth weight, breastfeeding history, and maternal anemia during pregnancy. Frequency distributions were created and comparisons tested with the chi square, and odds ratios calculated with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS Anemia prevalence in the region fell from 31.8% in 2005 to 26% in 2011; most of cases were mild (hemoglobin: 100-109 g/L).Prevalence was higher in children aged 6-23 months than in those aged 24-59 months throughout. No significant differences were found in anemia prevalence between boys and girls. Prevalence was higher in rural than in urban areas in 2005 (p = 0.026) and 2011 (p = 0.012). Daycare enrollment emerged as a protective factor in all three years. Low birth weight was associated with anemia only in 2011 (OR 1.74, CI 1.04-2.92). Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for six months increased over the study period; lack of breastfeeding was found to be associated with anemia in 2005 (OR 1.57, CI 1.05-2.34). Maternal anemia at onset of and during pregnancy was a significant risk factor in 2005 (OR 1.98, CI 1.27-3.10) and 2011 (OR 1.43, CI 1.05-1.94). CONCLUSIONS Although anemia prevalence steadily decreased over the study period, it continues to be a public health problem in Cuba and anemia prevention and control measures should be maintained and strengthened: interventions for women of childbearing age, fostering exclusive breastfeeding of infants through their sixth month, and encouraging compliance with recommendations on complementary feeding per Cuba's nutritional guidelines for children aged <2 years. Further evaluation is needed to identify the causes of anemia in the population of preschool children. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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