PMID: 16625803Apr 22, 2006Paper

Iron deficiency and anemia prevalence and associated etiologic risk factors in First Nations and Inuit communities in Northern Ontario and Nunavut.

Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne De Santé Publique
Anna ChristofidesStanley H Zlotkin

Abstract

Anemia is common among children in Aboriginal communities in Canada. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of anemia and to identify its associated risk factors among young children in Aboriginal communities in northern Ontario and Nunavut. 115 children from one Inuit and two Cree First Nations communities participated. We collected information on demographic and dietary factors and measured hemoglobin (Hb), ferritin (SF), serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) and Helicobacter pylori IgG antibodies. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were determined to examine risk factors associated with anemia and iron deficiency (ID) and further analyzed using stepwise regression procedures. Prevalence of anemia (Hb<110 g/L) was 36.0%. Iron deficiency (sTfR>8.5 mg/L) was present in 27.6% of the study population. Approximately 53.3% had depleted iron stores (SF<12 microg/L). Consumption of cow/evaporated milk was the only independent risk factor associated with anemia. Infection with H. pylori and prolonged consumption of breastmilk were also associated, although not independently, with anemia. Formula intake was negatively associated with ID. The prevalence of anemia in Aboriginal children was eight times higher tha...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anemia

Anemia develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells. Anemia of inflammation (AI, also called anemia of chronic disease) is a common, typically normocytic, normochromic anemia that is caused by an underlying inflammatory disease. Here is the latest research on anemia.