Abstract

RIVEROS, Jessica; ECHAGUE, Gloria; EVERS, Santiago  and  MENDOZA, Laura. Anemia and iron deficiency in reproductive age women attending the Regional Hospital of Villa Hayes, Paraguay. Mem. Inst. Investig. Cienc. Salud [online]. 2015, vol.13, n.2, pp.26-038. ISSN 1812-9528.  https://doi.org/10.18004/Mem.iics/1812-9528/2015.013(02)26-038.

Anemia is a public health problem all around the world. In Paraguay, there are limited data on the prevalence of anemia in nonpregnant women of reproductive age. This pilot descriptive crosssectional study had as objective to determine the frequency of anemia and iron deficiency, nutritional status, dietary and toxic habits in 99 nonpregnant women of reproductive age of 18-48 years attending the Regional Hospital of Villa Hayes in October 2014. The anemia was established on the cutoff hemoglobin concentration of <12 g/dL. Iron deficiency was evaluated according to the transferrin saturation. Besides, the body mass index (BMI) and dietary habits were evaluated using a survey. The frequency of anemia was 15.1% (CI95% 8.7-23.8%), of this 33.3% (CI95% 12.8-61.6%) was irondeficiency anemia. There was association between the cases of anemia and the decreased levels of hematocrit (<38%) and red blood cell count (<4.2 106 / uL). All women with iron deficiency anemia had a weight <64 kg and a BMI <24.5 kg /m2. In addition, a high frequency of overweight and obesity (45.4%), high consumption of fat, and low consumption legumbres, fruits and vegetables were detected. From these results, it is suggested that it is important to maintain surveillance and implement programs including these women, both to avoid nutritional deficiencies and excesses.

Keywords : Anemia; Iron deficiency; Eating habits; BMI.

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