Anemia in urban underprivileged children. Iron, folate, and vitamin B12 nutrition.

The prevalence and type of nutritional anemia was investigated in 344 children aged 1 to 16 years of mixed race and living in a poor urban setting. Iron deficiency anemia was common in 1-year-old children (23%) as was biochemical evidence of iron deficiency (53%). Anemia rates were minimal in older children and the prevalence of iron deficiency decreased with age. Folate deficiency did not appear to contribute to the etiology of anemia, and nutritional vitamin B12 deficiency was not present. No-relationship could be found between a number of familial variables and hematological nutritional status. It is suggested that to identify families whose children are at risk for nutritional anemia new approaches will be needed to define their characteristics.