Iron status in a population of Spanish schoolchildren

Iron status was assessed in a population of 196 schoolchildren and adolescents divided into three age groups: 6-7 years (n = 60), 10-12 years (n = 63) and 13-15 years (n = 73). All subjects were from the Vélez-Málaga area (province of Málaga) in southern Spain. Nutrient intakes and biochemical parameters related with iron status (number of red cells, hematocrit, hemoglobin, serum iron concentration, total iron-binding capacity and transferrin saturation) were measured. The results showed a lack of correlation between the nutrient intake and biochemical findings. Food intake calculations suggested that adolescent girls between 13 and 15 years of age were at greatest risk for iron deficiency (intakes covered only 71.6% and 84% of the iron and folic acid RDAs, respectively), followed by 10-12 year old girls and 6-7 year old boys. However, groups in which iron deficiency was most frequent according to the biochemical data were 6-7 year old boys (10%), followed by 13-15 year old adolescent boys (2.9%).