American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 23, 716-724, Copyright © 1970 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Prevalence of Iron-Deficiency Anemia among Infants and Young Children Seen at Rural Ambulatory Clinics

¹ From the Departments of Pediatrics and Nutrition, College of Medicine, and the State Services for Crippled Children, University of Iowa

The prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia among children aged 6 months to 3 years seen at ambulatory clinics in Iowa was found to be 4.1%. Although this population did not represent a true probability sample and certain factors may have spuriously influenced the presence of anemia, the children in the sample were in many respects similar to other Iowa children of the same age. Among a variety of epidemiologic and dietary variables, only age and birth weight had a statistically significant relationship to the development of anemia. Reasons for the lack of statistically significant relationships between iron-deficiency anemia and several of the usually associated factors were discussed. In this sample the absence of a group of children whose socioeconomic status was comparable to that of those residing in low income areas of large metropolitan centers is offered as a possible explanation for the low prevalence of anemia in this predominantly rural group, compared with higher prevalences reported in similar surveys performed in large cities.