Suplementação semanal de ferro em crianças de 2 anos é eficaz no combate à anemia

Abstract

Iron deficiency anemia is a serious public health problem in developing countries, especially among children, as it is associated with serious health problems. Iron supplementation is one of the recommended strategies to combat anemia. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of weekly ferrous sulfate supplementation on hemoglobin (Hb) levels and the prevalence of anemia in children aged 2 to 3 years. A cluster-randomized clinical trial was performed; in randomly chosen schools. The first constitutes the intervention group (group A) and was submitted to the intervention with 6mg/kg of elemental iron and the second the control group (group B), made use of placebo. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at the end of the study to assess serum Hb levels and prevalence of anemia. The intervention lasted 14 weeks. There was a mean increase in Hb of 0.85g/dL (p=0.0003) in the intervention group and a decrease of 0.74g/dL (p=0.0001) in the control group. The prevalence of anemia significantly decreased in the weekly supplementation group with p=0.0002. Weekly iron supplementation in preschool children promoted an increase in Hb levels and a decrease in the prevalence of anemia.