Prevalence of anemia in children of primary school in public institutions of Maringa-PR, 2008

Abstract

Anemia is a public health problem which affects urbanized countries as well as the ones under development. The aim was to estimate the prevalence of anemia in children in the beginning of a first grade of Elementary School from public schools of themunicipal district of Maringá-PR, in 2007, and the factors associated to its occurrence. It was a transversal study, carried out in 57 public schools of Maringá-PR, with a sample population of 371 students. Blood was collected from the middle finger and the hemoglobin dosage (Hb) was obtained by HemoCue, and the anemia was classified by the World Health Organization established criterion, Hb <11,5g/dl. The univariate and multivariate analysis for the variables related to the event were accomplished. The prevalence of the anemia was 39.3%. A significant association was noticed between anemia and number of children, being verified that in families with more than 3 children a child has 8.6 times more chance of having the disease when compared to other families. The prevalence of the anemia in the beginners was elevated in the municipal district, evidencing the need to implement and adopt effective actions for its prevention and control.