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Use of iron supplements in children aged 1-2 years with iron deficiency anemia: A cross-sectional study
Handan Atsiz Sezik1, Huseyin Can2, Mehmet Ali Kurnaz3
1Dr. Handan Atsiz Sezik, MD. Specialist, Katip Celebi University Ataturk Education and Research Hospital, Family Medicine Clinic, Izmir/Turkey.
Insights
This study found that providing families with proper information significantly increased iron supplement use and compliance in children. Continued iron supplementation up to age two is recommended for preventing childhood anemia.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutritional Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Iron deficiency is a global nutritional problem and a leading cause of childhood anemia.
- Iron supplementation is crucial for preventing and treating iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) in infants and young children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the usage and family awareness of iron preparations for infants (4-12 months) distributed by the Ministry of Health.
- To determine the effectiveness of iron supplementation and factors influencing its use and compliance.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey was conducted with families of children aged 1-2 diagnosed with IDA.
- Data collected included sociodemographic characteristics, iron drug usage patterns, and family knowledge regarding side effects, dosage, and duration of consumption.
Main Results:
- While 77.7% of families reported iron prescription, only 43.2% received information about the drug and IDA.
- Increased information provision on drug usage, side effects, and dosage led to higher drug use and improved patient compliance.
- Factors like parent education, child's gender, or birth method did not influence drug usage.
Conclusions:
- Prophylactic iron supplementation should be continued up to two years of age due to the high prevalence of anemia in children.
- Enhancing family education on iron supplementation is critical for improving adherence and effectiveness in managing childhood IDA.
Objectives:
Iron deficiency (ID) is the most common nutritional problem in the world and is the most common cause of childhood anemia. In this study, our aim was to find out about the state of usage of iron preparation, which is distributed free of charge by the Ministry of Health, for the infants between 4-12 months in our country, as well as detecting the awareness degree of families those who are informed about iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), prophylaxis of the drug and to determine the drug's effectiveness.
Methods:
It was a cross-sectional survey. The laboratory values from the files of the children aged 1-2 those who visited our hospital's department of pediatrics, between January 2010 to August 2013, were collected. The survey included families who have children diagnosed with IDA. Questions included about families' sociodemographic characteristics, the state of the usage of the iron drug, how much information received in terms of the side effects- consumption period and dosage.
Results:
A total of 139 children were enrolled in our study. While 77.7% of the families who participated stated that (n = 108) iron medicine was prescribed other 43.2% of families stated (n = 60) was prescribed and they were informed about iron pills and IDA. 25.9% of families had received information about drug's side effects, 74.8% of them had information about period of consumption and 77.7% said they were given information about the drug dose. The average duration of use of iron medicine was 6.98±4.52 (min: 1, max: 24) months. It has been noted that; parent's education level, mother's occupation, child's gender, how the child was born and receiving information about how to use the medicine had no effects on usage of the drug in children. Nevertheless, it has been noticed that, when the families were given proper information the drug use increased and the patients compliance with medications also increased.
Conclusion:
We believe that, due to frequent diagnosis of anemia in children, prophylaxis iron supplementation should be continued for up to the age of two years.
