Iron deficiency anemia in Tarahumara women of reproductive-age in Northern Mexico

Résumé 0

"Objective. To determine the prevalence of iron deficiencyanemia (IDA) among Tarahumara women of reproductiveage. Material and Methods. A cross-sectional survey wasconducted in a representative sample of 481 women aged12-49 years, residents of Guachochi Municipality, Chihuahua,from June to September 1998. The hemoglobin (Hb)level was measured in capillary blood using the Hemocuetechnique, and the serum ferritin level in capillary serumspotted on filter paper, in a sub-sample of women. Centraltendency and dispersion measures were estimated; the Chisquaredtest was used to test differences in proportionsand ANOVA and Bonferroni’s test for differences in means.Results. Prevalence of anemia (mean Hb±S.D.) was 16.1%(140±16 g/l) and 25.7% (129±12 g/l) for non-pregnant andpregnant women, respectively. Pregnant women in the 3rdtrimester and those who were breast-feeding their childrenduring the first 6 months after delivery had the highest prevalenceof anemia (38.5% and 42.9%, respectively). Iron deficiencywas responsible for most of the anemia found in thissample. Conclusions. This study provides relevant informationfor the development of intervention programs totreat and prevent IDA in this ethnic group. The English versionof this paper is available too at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html"