Avaliação do programa nacional de suplementação de ferro no controle de anemia, em crianças de 6 a 24 meses, assistidas nos centros de educação infantil do município do Guarujá / Evaluation of the national control program of iron-deficiency anemia suplementation in 6 to 24-month-old children, attended by public nursery services

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2009

RESUMO

The iron-deficiency anemia in children is a major nutritional problem faced by developing countries. The National Program of Iron Supplementation established in Brazil in 2005, which seeks to control this nutritional deficiency, consists of weekly supplementation of iron, distributed freely in health care centers, for 6 to 18-month-old children. Objective: To verify the effectiveness of the National Program of Iron Supplementation in order to control the iron-deficiency anemia in infants attended by public nursery services in Guarujá. Methods: The study was approved by the Public Health and Education Secretary and supported by the free and informed consent of those responsible for the children.In the beginning of the study the responsible responded to a questionnaire about the social, economic characteristics and familiar dietary habits.All children between 6 and 24-month-old age received doses of ferrous sulphate during a 24 week period, as recommended by the National Program of Iron Supplementation.Children were evaluated for the prevalence of anemia and the success of the intervention was determined by the values of the hemoglobin concentration at the beginning and after the intervention.Results: 136 children participated on the study. The major of families (64%) declared incomes of under than two minimum wages and 58% declared as having the mother as the head of the family. The scholar levels were defined by considering the completed years of study and 46.3% attended to school for eight years or more.The nutritional status of children was evaluated by the WHO (World Health Organization - 2006) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - 2000) curves of reference. It was found that, regardless the pattern used, children showed significant percentage of stunting and overweight. By default from WHO (2006) 30,8% of children were diagnosed with stunting, while for the CDC (2000) the prevalence was 18%. Overweight was observed in 24% by the WHO (2006) and 18% by the CDC (2000).The prevalence of anemia at the beginning of the study was 39% and 30,8% at the end of the period of intervention. Among the anemic children it was initially observed an average increase of the concentration of hemoglobin of 1.19 g/dL (p = 0000). The food at homes was presented very similar to that offered in the nursery. The presence of natural source of iron and/or supplemented food was observed in all meals, but even so, the dietary intake of the nutrient in question did not reach the recommended quantity to meet the need of infants. Thus the prophylactic supplementation offered by the National Program of Iron Supplementation is essential to meet the demand of mineral and thus allows the proper development of children below 2 year-old age.Conclusion: considering the infants as a risk group for irondeficiency and considering the many deleterious consequences entailed by this nutritional deficiency, the National Iron Supplementation is enabled to control this malnutrition. To combat anemia is necessary to intensify the educational measures that emphasize the major consequences of this deficiency, increasing the adherence to the program and improving the quality in childrens lives.

ASSUNTO(S)

ferro iron sulfato ferroso supplementation anemia ferropriva suplementação infants iron-deficiency anemia lactentes

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