The prevalence of anemia in Brazilian children aged 6 months to 5 years fell from 20.9% to 10.1% between 2006 and 2019, according to data released today (19) in the National Study on Child Nutrition and Nutrition (Enani-2019). The reduction occurred in all Brazilian regions, with the exception of the North, where the prevalence rose from 10.4% in 2006 to 17% in 2019.
The coordinator of the micronutrients axis at Enani and a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Inês Rugani, says that the prevalence of 10.1% characterizes anemia as a mild public health problem, according to parameters established by the World Organization of Health (WHO). To stop being considered a public health problem, the percentage needs to be less than 5%.
The study also mapped vitamin A deficiency in children aged 6 months to 5 years and found a prevalence of 6% in Brazil, which represents a reduction compared to the 17.4% recorded in 2006, in the National Demographic and Health Survey .
With the drop, the national percentage left the moderate public health problem zone (10% to 20%) and started to be considered a mild problem (2% to 10%). Vitamin A deficiency was higher in the Midwest (9.5%), South (8.9%) and North (8.3%).
The UFRJ researcher stated that it is important to deepen knowledge about regional and local inequalities with new research. “The data seem to indicate that we are at a moment when we can start working with the targeting of the most vulnerable groups”, he evaluated.
Other micronutrients were evaluated for the first time nationwide, such as vitamin B12. In this case, the prevalence of lack of vitamin was 14.2% in Brazil, reaching 28.5% in the North Region.
The national coordinator of Enani-2019, Gilberto Kac, highlights that this micronutrient reflects socioeconomic inequalities and a scenario of food insecurity.
“The sources of vitamin B12 are exclusively animal foods, mainly – beef, pork, liver, offal and fish. The difficulty in accessing these foods may be related to the high prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in this age group”, analyzes Kac in a text released by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), one of the institutions participating in the project.
Vitamin D deficiency had an estimated prevalence of 4.3% in Brazil. In this case, the lowest percentages were 0.9% in the Northeast and 1.2% in the North, while the highest was 7.8% in the South. Data were also presented for zinc deficiency, which had a prevalence of 17.8 % in Brazil, below the 20% limit that constitutes a public health problem.
The survey included 12,500 households and managed to collect blood samples from 8,800 children aged 6 to 59 months. Interviews were also carried out with the families.
The general coordinator of food and nutrition at the Ministry of Health, Gisele Bortolini, highlighted the importance of the research for public policies and stated that the consumption of data by management is immediate.
“The priority, from the point of view of public policy, is the healthy diet of children. That is the goal. However, while shortages persist, we have supplementation programs,” he said.
“The decision that we have already improved, looking at the North Region, identifying this vulnerability, is to intensify the action through NutriSUS [Estratégia de Fortificação da Alimentação Infantil com Micronutrientes (vitaminas e minerais) em Pó] . This Friday, the team is going to the Amazon, for the intensification of NutriSUS, which was going to happen at school and will happen in primary care.”
University of São Paulo researcher Marly Cardoso participated in the live broadcast of the research launch and praised the work, but recalled that the data are from 2019 and reflect a period prior to the covid-19 pandemic. “These results reflect before the pandemic and the previous decade of actions for nutritional care and child health. We are facing another scenario that requires caution”.
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