Relation of complementary foods and anemia in urban underprivileged children in Surakarta

Abstract

Background Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is still prevalent in Indonesian children. Attempt to treat patients with IDA with iron supplementation has been difficult because of low compliance. Objective To determine the complementary foods that contributes in the prevalence of anemia in children. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted in three urban underprivileged villages. Healthy children aged 6-23 months at the time of interview were selected. The questionnaire was specially developed for determining the risks of IDA. We took blood sampling to measure the hemoglobin concentration. Results A total of 86 children participated in the study; but only data of 78 children were available for analysis. The prevalence of anemia among those children was 35%. Most children (90%) consumed animal protein inadequately. Rice-based diet was the main meal of most children (97%). Analysis of possible factors associated with the anemia showed that inadequate plant or animal protein consumption, wasted children, less than 2 orange consumption, not consuming iron fortified formula/cereal had OR 1.2 (95%CI 0.40; 3.61), 4.13 (95%CI 0.48;35.45), 4.67 (95%CI 1.04;20.04), 6.25 (95% CI 1.32;29.55) and 3.15 (95%CI 1.18;8.41), respectively. Logistic analysis revealed that the factors associated with anemia were wasted children (OR 9.10, 95%CI 1.38;60.18), low or no orange consumption (OR 7.86, 95%CI 1.36;45.40) and not consuming iron fortified formula/ cereal (OR 3.01, 95%CI 1.02;8.90). Conclusion In children with rice-based diet as main meal, consuming orange as an enhancing factor should also be addressed in order to prevent anemia.

Keywords

• complementary food
• iron deficiency
• anemia