Dietary determinants of anemia in children aged 6–36 months: A cross-sectional study in Indonesia

Abstract

Anemia has been acknowledged as worldwide problem, including in Indonesia. This cross-sectional study aims to explore dietary determinants as risk factors for anemia in children aged 6–36 months living in a poor urban area of Jakarta. The study was done in Kampung Melayu sub-district in Jakarta, Indonesia. Data was collected within two weeks in September–October 2020. A structured questionnaire for a 24-h recall and a semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) were used to collect the dietary intake data, and venous blood was withdrawn to determine the hemoglobin levels. Bivariate chi-square and multiple logistic regression tests were executed to explore the dietary determinant factors for anemia. We recruited 180 subjects. The average hemoglobin concentration was 11.4 ± 1.7 mg/dL; the anemia prevalence was 29.4%. The following variables were significantly associated with higher risk of anemia: no cow’s milk formula consumption, inadequate intake of fats, protein, calcium, vitamin D, iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. Only cow’s milk formula consumption and zinc intake were revealed as the determinant factors of anemia. In conclusion, the prevalence of anemia was 29.4% among children aged 6–36 months old. Anemia was significantly associated with two dietary determinants as risk factors that are cow’s milk formula consumption and zinc intake.