Iron deficiency anemia among Jewish and Arab infants at 6 and 12 months of age in Hadera, Israel

Abstract

Infants attending six Family Health Centers of the Israel Ministry of Health in various Jewish and Arab localities in the Hadera subdistrict were examined for hemoglobin levels at 6 and 12 months of age. The prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin less than 11 g/dl) among Jewish infants rose from a total of 44.7 to 60% from 6 to 12 months. For the Arab infants, the prevalence of anemia increased from a total of 43.7% at 6 months to 71.0% at 12. The prevalence of severe anemia (less than 10 g/dl) for the Jewish infants rose from 4.5 to 13.1% and for the Arab infants from 7.7 to 19.6%. Of the Jewish infants with a hemoglobin level less than 10 g/dl at 6 months, 50% were still less than 10 g/dl at 12 months. Of the Arab infants less than 10 g/dl at 6 months, 36.4% were still at that level at 12 months. The lack of routine iron supplementation as a preventive procedure and the routine use of cow's milk for infant feeding are the probable causes of this high prevalence of iron deficiency anemia.