The study aimed to assess trends in the prevalence of anemia in children from quilombos (maroon communities) in Alagoas State, Brazil. This was a descriptive study comparing the results of two household surveys (2008; n = 950 and 2018; n = 426), involving a sample of children from 6 to 59 months of age. Anemia was diagnosed as hemoglobin < 110g/L (HemoCue). Prevalence rates between the two surveys were described by percentage and by prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI), calculated by Poisson regression. Prevalence rates for anemia in 2008 and 2018 were 53% (95%CI: 49.8-56.1) and 38% (95%CI: 33.4-42.6), respectively, or a decrease of 28.3% (RP = 0.72; 95%CI: 0.63-0.82). Children 6 to 24 months of age had higher anemia rates than those 25 to 59 months of age, both in 2008 (72% vs. 44%) and in 2018 (54.8% vs. 28.3%). There was a reduction in prevalence in both age brackets (23.9% and 35.7%, respectively). This sharper decline in older children meant that younger children had nearly double the prevalence rate compared to older children (PR = 1.94; 95%CI: 1.53-2.46). In conclusion, there was a major decline in prevalence of anemia during the period studied, but anemia persisted as a relevant public health problem, especially in children 6 to 24 months of age. The children in the sample are exposed to harsh social vulnerabilities, evidencing that health promotion for this population requires more than actions in the public health sphere itself. Healthcare workers and administrators should be alert to the data presented here, aimed at implementation of measures to confront the social and health iniquities that contribute to greater vulnerability in this ethnic-racial group.
Keywords:
Iron-deficiency Anemia; Health of Ethnic Minorities; Child Health; Health Surveys
Thumbnail
