Introduction:

The heterogeneity of the impact of anemia has been described according to geographic area; in rural areas the impact is greater, affecting the most vulnerable populations.

Objective:

to evaluate the effect of nutritional supplementation in anemic children, both indigenous and non-indigenous, under five years of age, in rural communities in the Department of Caazapá.

Materials and methods:

This was a cross-sectional, observational study. We studied a cohort of 109 indigenous and non-indigenous children under five years of age whose parents gave their informed consent and were given ferrous sulfate based on age and weight.

Results:

There was a significant increase in hemoglobin medians, after the intervention, of 5.0 g / L in the anemic group of indigenous children and of 6.0 g / L in the non-indigenous children; 31% of indigenous children and 84% of non-indigenous children ceased to be anemic after the intervention.

Conclusion:

Both the indigenous and non-indigenous populations of anemic children showed a significant increase in their average levels of hemoglobin after iron supplementation and a majority improved to a milder degree of anemia or to a resolution of their anemia.

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