CHILDHOOD IRON DEFICIENCY
AND NUTRITIONAL ANEMIA IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Rahimy MC
Facultes des Sciences de la Sante,
Cotonou, Benin
Nutritional anemia results from dietary lack of a nutritional
component essential for hemoglobin production. In the infant over 30% of
iron required for hemoglobin production come from diet, iron deficiency is
the most common causal factor of nutritional anemia in children. Its
clinical and biological features include: pallor, impaired physical growth,
recurrent bacterial infections, hypochromic and microcytic erythrocytes
with decreased levels of serum iron and serum ferritin. Its treatment
consists of daily oral administration of an iron salt for at least 2 or 3
months to reconstitute body iron storage. Greatest need and restricted
capacity to adapt to deficiency expose the growing child to severe
repercussion of iron deficiency. Iron is involved in many crucial biologic
functions, serving as metal co-factor for many enzymes. In Sub-Saharan
Africa, it is thought that over 60% of children suffer from iron
deficiency, but nutritional anemia usually involves many intricate causal
factors (folate, vitamin B12, cooper, etc.) because of prevalent
protein-caloric malnutrition. Therefore the hematological features may be
modified and causes misdiagnosis and underestimation. In addition, the
prevalence of hookworm infestation and other intestinal parasites in
toddlers, recurrent Plasmodium
falciparum malarial infestation, and the predominance of cereals in
diet are worsening factors.
Early detection at pre-clinic stage, and prevention of iron
deficiency and other causal factors of nutritional anemia is a topic of
importance in Sub-Saharan Africa for caring children and for planning public
health measures to improve the diet of the whole population. The suburban
populations required a particular attention: most of them resulting from
rural depopulation. The impoverishment precludes them from accessing foods
of animal origin which facilitates iron assimilation and they have to modify
their traditional nutritional habits.