Risk of iron deficiency anemia in children with low ferritin levels
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14450/2318-9312.v25.e3.a2013.pp138-142Keywords:
iron deficiency anemia, children, ferritinAbstract
Iron deficiency anemia may impair learning ability in children aged 02 to 06 years. This disease may produce behavioral effects such as lack of attention, fatigue and tiredness that can lead to poor school performance. The aim of this study was to determine the number of children 02 to 06 years who performed the measurements of ferritin, serum iron and hemogram in a clinical laboratory in Belo Horizonte/MG, in the first half 2011, seeking to evaluate the results of these examinations and to establish the prevalence of iron deficiency in studied subjects. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional observational study. Through software-BI SADIG, used for data management of the clinical laboratory, we selected 363 children from 02 to 06 years who performed the measurements of ferritin, serum iron and hemogram during the period from January first to July thirty-one, two thousand and eleven. The male children had plasma ferritin levels significantly lower when compared with female children (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between participants of both sexes for serum iron and hemoglobin. Nine children (2.5%) had anemia (Hb ≤ 11.0 g/dL and ferritin ≤ 12 ng/mL). There was a low prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in children. The most important finding of this study was nearly five times greater risk of developing iron deficiency anemia in children who had plasma ferritin levels below or equal to 12 ng/mL, suggesting that this may be considered the best cutoff point for the population studied.Downloads
Published
2013-09-30
How to Cite
CASTRO, R. G. de, MARTINS-JÚNIOR, J. A., & LIMA, L. M. (2013). Risk of iron deficiency anemia in children with low ferritin levels. Infarma - Pharmaceutical Sciences, 25(3), 138–142. https://doi.org/10.14450/2318-9312.v25.e3.a2013.pp138-142
Issue
Section
Original article
License
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Licença Creative Commons Attribution which allows the sharing of work with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are authorized to take additional contracts separately, for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (e.g. publish in institutional repository or as a book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their personal page) at any point before or during the editorial process, as this can generate productive changes as well as increase the impact and Citation of published work (See O Efeito do Acesso Livre ).