Deficiência em ferro e frequência alimentar em crianças em idade escolar na Ilha de Santa Maria

Abstract

The iron deficiency in children is associated with an increased risk of delayed psychomotor development with income below the normal for age, both in terms of language, both in motor and intellectual. The deficit in iron, which is often associated with an unbalanced diet and inadequate, can be easily detected by routine analysis and easily reversed in most cases, the change in dietary habits. This work aimed to evaluate the prevalence of iron deficiency and food frequency in children between six and ten years, residents on the island of Santa Maria, Azores. For this survey was conducted of all children attending the 1st cycle of basic education on the island, collected the socio-demographic data, distributed food frequency questionnaires and conducted analytical studies, which included complete blood count, and dosemento serum iron, the ferritin and transferrin. Of the 76 children who participated in this study, only four had iron deficiency without anemia (7,4%). Children living in rural areas had higher iron deposits (ferritin increase) than the urban area. The stratification of the analytical parameters for the median consumption of some foods has shown that children with calcium intake below the median had higher values of transferrin, and that higher concentrations of hemoglobin were found in children with higher consumption of some vegetables. We found positive and significant correlation between the concentration of hemoglobin, serum iron and erythrocyte count, and school outcomes in mathematics; between the concentration of hemoglobin, hematocrit, erythrocyte count, a study of the medium and artistic expression; between value of leukocyte and performance in physical education; between the hematocrit and the number of erythrocytes, and performance in music education. Despite the limitations of this study related to sample size, this study allowed to better understand the population of the island of Santa Maria, in respect of some indicators of health and eating habits of children. The association of these hematological parameters and academic achievement emphasizes the importance of the development of awareness among the population, to promote a more correct and healthy diet.

Date of Award	Feb 2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Elísio Manuel de Sousa Costa (Supervisor) & Alice Santos Silva (Co-Supervisor)