Anaemia among children living in land reform colonization projects in the Northeast region of Brazil: a population-based cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the prevalence of anaemia and its social determinants among Brazilian children from rural settlements of the land reform colonization projects of Teresina city, in Northeast, Brazil. This is a population-based cross-sectional study involving 131 children younger than 5 years. Anaemia was diagnosed by haemoglobin measurements using an automated haematology analyser. The prevalence of anaemia was 29%. Multiple Poisson regression showed that anemia prevalence decreased by 39% for each year of the child’s age (aPR= 0.61; 95% CI= 0.50 – 0.74), 14% for each year of maternal education (aPR= 0.86; 95% CI= 0.79 – 0.94) and 6% for each year of maternal age (aPR= 0.94; 95% CI= 0.89 – 1.00). In addition, children living in clay or in unfinished masonry houses had a higher prevalence of anemia than those living in finished masonry houses (aPR= 2.73; 95% CI= 1.50 – 4.97). Anaemia is a moderate public health problem in rural land reform settlements in Teresina and is probably a health issue in other land reform colonization projects in Brazil and worldwide. Strategies that promote the economic and social development of this population need to be implemented, as well as strengthening the implementation of the National Iron Supplementation Program (Programa Nacional de Suplementacao de Ferro).