Prevalência de anemia em crianças indígenas de 6 a 59 meses do município de Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil

Abstract

The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of anemia in indigenous children aged from 6 to 59 months old in the municipality of Dourados-MS. This is a cross-sectional study with a probabilistic sample composed of 363 indigenous children aged between 6-59 months, living in Bororó and Jaguapiru Indian villages in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic, clinical and secondary information. The overall prevalence of anemia found in this study was 29.8%. The Jaguapiru village showed the highest percentage of participants (50.7%) and the predominant ethnic group was Guarani (76.1%). The highest percentage of participants were male (50.4%) and the predominant age were those younger than 12 months old (44.1%). The highest prevalence of anemia with a statistically significant difference was found in children aged between 12 and 24 months, with a percentage of 59.3%. The results show that anemia presents itself as an important public health problem in indigenous children, especially in the ones under two years old, denoting the need for preventive actions.