Prevalence and risk factors for in Southern Brazil

Objective To measure the prevalence and evaluate the risk factors of anemia . Methods Cross sectional populational based study of the urban area of Crici uma town, in the state of Santa Catarina. Southern Brazil. The study popula tion was a probabilistic sample of 476 children aged under three years. Results The prevalence of anemia found in the sample was 60.4% for children aged 0 to 35.9 months according to the Brault-Dubuc criteria and 54% for c hildren aged 6 to 35.9 months according to the OMS criteria. The prevalence of anemia increases with age up to 18 months-old and then decreases. It is less prevalent in families where the father has a higher education level a nd where there is a higher total family income. Nevertheless, even within t he 25% higher income group 40% of the children are anemic. The prevalence o f anemia is higher among children living in unfinished and overcrowded hous es, where the toilet is not equipped with flush, and among children who hav e two or more older brothers. It is also higher among teenager mothers (<20 years), and 35 years old or older mothers. The prevalence of anemia is low er among women who had 5 to 9 prenatal visits during pregnancy. Low weight at birth was associated with iron deficiency. The nutritional condition was associated with anemia only according to weight/age criteria. Hospitalizat ions in the last 12 months were not associated with the disease. In the hie rarchical multivariate analysis children age, family income, and crowded ho use were the only significant variables. Reproductive health history, healt h service visits, birth weight breast-feeding, anthropometry, and morbidity did not characterize a risk factor of anemia in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions The study makes it evident thatsocial inequality is a strong de terminant of anemia. The risk imposed by anemia to children in regard to th eir health and intellectual development requires immediate action.