Individual and Community Factors Contribute to a High Prevalence of Nutritional Anemia among Women and Children in Baja California, Mexico

Being Hispanic (most of my family comes/lives in Baja California, Mexico) and noticing anemia running in my family, I was quickly drawn to this article. This article examined the etiology and factors contributing to anemia in women and children as anemia is a public health problem among that population in rural Baja California, Mexico. This article is a cross-sectional study comprised of 118 women (15–49 years of age) and 25 children (24–59 months of age), conducted during the year of 2012. Participants completed a health and dietary survey and underwent anemia testing. A sample of venous blood was collected from anemic participants to determine the etiology. Six random community tiendas (small stores) were chosen to establish the types of foods available for purchase. The results showed a prevalence of anemia for women was 22% and 20% for children. Women from low socioeconomic status households and women enrolled in the government assistance program (Prospera) were significantly more likely to be anemic (OR = 3.48, 95% CI 1.35, 8.98 and OR = 2.49, 95% CI 1.02, 6.09, respectively). Vitamin supplementation was used as a defensive against anemia (OR = 0.12, 95% CI 0.02, 0.94). Iron deficiency anemia was the primary etiology in 100% of children and 80.8% of women, followed by vitamin B-12 deficiency (11.5%), and combined iron and vitamin B-12 deficiency (7.7%). Dietary assessments showed limited consumption of, and access to, iron absorption promoting foods such as citrus fruit and leafy green vegetables. Examination of the tiendas revealed meat and citrus fruit available for purchase at all stores; however, leafy green vegetables were only available at one store. Therefore, the study concluded with recommending an implementation of programs designed to improve nutrition and health literacy, along with ensuring access to nutritious foods, are essential for reducing nutritional anemia within the community. This was interesting to read and identify the reason why some of my family memebers are anemic.

Reference: Moor, M. A., Brodine, S., Garfein, R., Rashidi, H., Fraga, M., Kritz-Silverstein, D., ... & Elder, J. (2016). Individual and Community Factors Contribute to a High Prevalence of Nutritional Anemia among Women and Children in Baja California, Mexico. Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal, 7(1), 8A-8A.

-NM