One-Year Daily Micronutrient Supplementation and Anemia Prevalence Among Mildly Stunted Infants in Bhaktapur, Nepal

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the burden of anemia at 6 to 11 months and the change in anemia prevalence after 1 year of multi-micronutrient supplementation. Methods: We analyzed hemoglobin concentration twice in 569 children. First when they were 6 to 11 months old and second after 1 year (at ages 18-23 months). All children were given a lipid-based micronutrient formulation daily for a year. Results: The prevalence (95% CI) of anemia at 6 to 11 months was 65% (61%-68%) and decreased to 25% (21%-28%) after 1 year. Among the 367 infants with anemia at baseline, 29% continued to be anemic during follow-up. There were also 18% infants who developed anemia during follow-up out of 202 infants with normal hemoglobin concentration at baseline. Conclusions: The anemia prevalence was substantially reduced after 1 year with micronutrient supplementation. However, even after 1 year of multimicronutrient supplementation, one-fourth of toddlers had anemia which merits further integrated research and comprehensive intervention.