Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T21:27:13.334Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Haemoglobin, ferritin, and iron intakes in British children aged 12–14 years: a preliminary investigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Michael Nelson ,
Joanne White  and
Charlotte Rhodes
Michael Nelson
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, King's College London, Campden Hill Road, London W8 7AH
Joanne White
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, King's College London, Campden Hill Road, London W8 7AH
Charlotte Rhodes
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, King's College London, Campden Hill Road, London W8 7AH
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The purpose of the study was to assess the prevalence of Fe deficiency and Fe-deficiency anaemia in a group of apparently healthy adolescents, and to assess the value of a food frequency and amount questionnaire as a screening tool to identify children at risk of Fe deficiency. White schoolchildren (399) aged 12–14 years living in a Southwest London suburb completed a food frequency and amount questionnaire to assess usual Fe and vitamin C intake, and provided a thumb-prick blood sample for analysis of haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), and serum ferritin (SF). Children were classified as ‘anaemic’ if Hb was below the Dallman 3rd percentile (girls: < 120 g/l; boys: < 122, < 124 and < 126 g/l at ages 12, 13 and 14 years respectively); and ‘low’ or ‘borderline’ in Fe stores if SF was < 12 μg/l, or between 12 and 20 μg/l respectively. Of the boys and girls 3·5 and 10·5% respectively were anaemic; 1% of boys and 4% of girls had low ferritin values, and 14% of boys and 16% of girls were borderline. Fe intakes were significantly higher in boys than in girls (12·3 v. 9·6 mg/d, P < 0·001). Prevalence of anaemia was 14·5% in the group with both low Fe intakes (< lower reference nutrient intake) and low vitamin C intakes (< median), compared with 2·3% in the group with both high Fe intakes (> reference nutrient intake) and high vitamin C intakes (> median). Anaemia was three times more common in vegetarians than omnivores (25 v. 9%), and in girls who had tried to lose weight in the last year compared with those who had not (23 v. 7%). The questionnaire did not prove satisfactory as a screening tool for risk of Fe deficiency. The higher-than-expected prevalence of Fe deficiency in apparently healthy white girls suggests that other groups should also be investigated.

Keywords

HaemoglobinFerritinIronAdolescence
Type
Iron Intake and Status
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 70 , Issue 1 , July 1993 , pp. 147 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1993

References

REFERENCES

Armstrong, P. L. (1989). Iron deficiency in adolescents. British Medical Journal 298, 499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barker, D. J. P., Bull, A. R., Osmond, C. & Simmonds, S. J. (1990). Fetal and placental size and risk of hypertension in adult life. British Medical Journal 301, 259–262.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beaton, G. H., Corey, P. N. & Steele, C. (1989). Conceptual and methodological issues regarding the epidemiology of iron deficiency and their implications for studies of the functional consequences of iron deficiency. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 575–588.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Borel, M. J., Smith, S. M., Derr, J. & Beard, J. L. (1991). Day-to-day variation in iron-status indices in healthy men and women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54, 729–735.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dallman, P. R. & Siimes, M. A. (1979). Percentile curves for haemoglobin and red cell volume in infancy and childhood. Journal of Pediatrics 94, 26–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dallman, P. R., Siimes, M. A. & Stekel, A. (1980). Iron deficiency in infancy and childhood. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 33, 86–118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Darke, S. J., Disselduff, M. M. & Try, G. P. (1980). Frequency distributions of mean daily intakes of food energy and selected nutrients obtained during nutrition surveys of different groups of people in Great Britain between 1968 and 1971. British Journal of Nutrition 44, 243–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Department of Health (1989). The diets of British school children. Report on Health and Social Subjects no. 36. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Department of Health (1991). Dietary reference values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom. Report on Health and Social Subjects no. 41. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Department of Health and Social Security (1979). Recommended Daily Amounts of Food Energy and Nutrients for Groups of People in the United Kingdom. Report on Health and Social Subjects no. 15. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Durnin, J. V. G. A., Lonergan, M. E., Good, J. & Ewan, A. (1974). A cross-sectional nutritional and anthropometric study, with an interval of 7 years, on 611 young adolescent schoolchildren. British Journal of Nutrition 32, 169–179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Godfrey, K. M., Redman, C. W. G., Barker, D. J. P. & Osmond, C. (1991). The effect of maternal anaemia and iron deficiency on the ratio of fetal weight to placental weight. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 98, 886–891.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goel, K. M., Logan, R. W., House, F., Connell, M. D., Strevens, E., Watson, W. H. & Bulloch, C. B. (1978). The presence of haemoglobinopathies, nutritional iron and folate deficiencies in native and immigrant children in Glasgow. Health Bulletin 36, 1776–1783.Google Scholar
Hallberg, L. (1989). Search for nutritional confounding factors in the relationship between iron deficiency and brain function. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 598–606.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hinchliffe, R. F. & Lilleyman, J. S. (1987). Practical Paediatric Haematology. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
International Committee for Standardization in Haematology (1967). Recommendations for haemoglobinometry in human blood. British Journal of Haematology 13, 71.Google Scholar
Nelson, M., Naismith, D. J., Burley, V., Gatenby, S. & Geddes, N. (1990). Nutrient intakes, vitamin-mineral supplementation, and intelligence in British school children. British Journal of Nutrition 64, 13–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, A. A. & Southgate, D. A. T. (1978). McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods, 4th ed. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Pollitt, E. (1990). Malnutrition in the Classroom. Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
Pollitt, E., Hathirat, P., Kotchabhakdi, N. J., Missell, L. & Valyasevi, A. (1989). Iron deficiency and educational achievement in Thailand. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 687–697.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seshadri, S. & Gopaldas, T. (1989). Impact of iron supplementation on cognitive functions in preschool and school-aged children, the Indian experience. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 675–686.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soemantri, A. G. (1989). Preliminary findings on iron supplementation and learning achievement of rural Indonesian children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 698–702.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soemantri, A. G., Pollitt, E. & Kim, I. (1985). Iron deficiency anemia and educational achievement. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 42, 1221–1228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SPSS (1988). Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. 3rd ed. Chicago: SPSS.Google Scholar
Tucker, D. M., Sanstead, H. H., Penland, J. G., Dawson, S. L. & Milne, D. B. (1984). Iron status and brain function: serum ferritin levels associated with asymmetries of cortical electrophysiology and cognitive performance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 39, 105–113.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Webb, T. E. & Oski, F. A. (1973). Iron deficiency anaemia and scholastic achievement in young adolescents. Journal of Pediatrics 82, 827–830.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Webb, T. E. & Oski, F. A. (1974). Behavioral status of young adolescents with iron deficiency anaemia. Journal of Special Education 8, 153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar