THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IRON-DEFICIENCY AND ANEMIA IN VENEZUELAN CHILDREN

The iron status of 3228 subjects from the nutrition survey Proyecto Ve nezuela was studied. The sample included children from 1 to 16 y of ag e grouped by age and sex. Values for three indicators of iron status w ere compared: hemoglobin concentration, serum ferritin concentration, and percentage saturation of serum transferrin. In all groups there wa s 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 abnor mal values of at least one of these two indexes were not anemic. The d ifficulties involved in establishing a state of iron deficiency accord ing to these indexes are discussed.