| Infant nutrition program effectively prevents iron-deficiency anemia in a First Nations community. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 10093271 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) has received relatively little attention in Canada, with no national public health initiatives even among high-risk infants. IDA has a high prevalence in First Nations children and has been shown to cause developmental delay. This study is a before/after prevalence survey studying the effect of a public health intervention, conducted on a First Nations reserve off the central coast of British Columbia (BC). We screened for IDA one cohort of infants born January 1993 to August 1994 and between the ages of 6 and 24 months. Twenty-five of a possible 37 infants were screened. We found 13 (52%) of the 25 had anemia, with a hemoglobin less than 100 g/L. The average hemoglobin was 98.9 +/- 19.2 g/L. The subsequent implementation of an infant nutrition program focused on educating parents and encouraging the use of iron-fortified formula for nonbreast-fed infants. In the year following program implementation, the cohort of infants born between September 1994 and September 1995 were screened for IDA when they were between the ages of 6 and 15 months. Twenty-four of 27 infants participated. Only one infant was anemic with a hemoglobin less than 100 g/L. The average hemoglobin was 116.6 +/- 11.6 g/L. The increase in the average hemoglobin and the decrease in the prevalence of anemia were both highly significant (p < .01). We judged our intervention to be very effective and would recommend similar programs for other First Nations communities. |
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Authors:
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P Sawchuk; M Rauliuk; A Kotaska; S Townsend; E Wilson; M Starr |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: International journal of circumpolar health Volume: 57 Suppl 1 ISSN: 1239-9736 ISO Abbreviation: Int J Circumpolar Health Publication Date: 1998 |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 1999-05-20 Completed Date: 1999-05-20 Revised Date: 2008-11-21 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9713056 Medline TA: Int J Circumpolar Health Country: FINLAND |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 189-93 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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United Church Health Services, Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada. |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Anemia, Iron-Deficiency
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epidemiology,
prevention & control* British Columbia / epidemiology Cohort Studies Ethnic Groups Female Health Planning / organization & administration* Hemoglobins / analysis Humans Infant Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena* Infant, Newborn Male Prevalence Preventive Health Services / organization & administration* |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Hemoglobins |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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