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Iron status of adolescent girls from two boarding schools in southern Benin
Author(s) -
Alaofe Halimatou,
Zee John,
O'Brien Huguette Turgeon
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a705-c
Subject(s) - medicine , transferrin saturation , anemia , confidence interval , iron deficiency , confounding , logistic regression , hemoglobin , ferritin , pediatrics , serum iron , micronutrient , iron deficiency anemia , demography , environmental health , zoology , biology , pathology , sociology
Iron deficiency is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency in the world, particularly in developing countries. Blood samples and a qualitative food frequency questionnaire on iron and vitamin C rich foods were obtained in 180 adolescent girls aged 12 to 17 years living in two boarding schools from South Benin. Iron deficiency, defined as either serum ferritin <20 μg/L or serum ferritin 20–50 μg/L plus two of the following parameters: serum iron <11 μmol/L, total iron binding capacity >73 μmol/L or transferrin saturation <20%, was found in 32% of subjects. Anemia (hemoglobin (Hb) <120 g/L) was found in 51% of adolescents, while 24% suffered from iron deficiency anemia (iron deficiency and Hb <120 g/L). After adjusting for confounding factors (age, mother's and father's occupation, household size) in a logistic regression equation, subjects having a low meat consumption (beef, mutton, pork) (<4 times a week) were more than twice as likely to suffer from ID (odd ratio (OR) 2.43 and 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.72–3.35; P=0.04). Adolescents consuming less fruits (<4 times a week) also had a higher likelihood of suffering from ID (OR=1.53; 95%CI=1.31–2.80; P=0.03). Finally, subjects whose meat consumption was low, were twice as likely to suffer from iron deficiency anemia (OR=2.24; 95%CI=1.01–4.96; P=0.04). The prevalence of iron deficiency represents an important health problem in these Beninese adolescent girls. A higher consumption of iron rich foods and of promotors of iron absorption (meat factor and vitamin C) is recommended to prevent iron deficiency in these subjects.