Haematological nutrition of schoolchildren in the far northwestern cape.

Nutritional anemia linked to malnutrition is often associated with morbidity. Moreover evidence suggests that iron deficiency anemia is detrimental to scholastic and intellectual performance. This study investigates the prevalence of anaemia and deficiencies of iron folate and vitamin B12 in primary schoolchildren of mixed ethnic origin living in four towns in the remote semi-desert area of Richtersveld southern Africa. Students were of poor yet mixed socioeconomic status and aged 7-15 years. Neither iron nor B12 deficiencies were observed in the study population. 6.3% were however anemic. While less than 2% were significantly folate-deficient 14.5% presented with subnormal erythrocyte folate concentrations. Negligible differences were found between hematological parameters despite variance in childrens lunch diets. Results suggest that these schoolchildren are not at risk for nutritional anemia.