Assessment of Risk Factors for Iron Deficiency Anemia in Infants and Young Children: A Case-Control Study.

INTRODUCTION: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is common in children aged 0-35 months in Lithuania. Nevertheless, there are no studies investigating IDA in this age group. We aimed to identify the major risk factors for disease development focusing on medical history and dietary habits. METHODS: A prospective case-control study was conducted in a university hospital. The enrolled cohort was divided into three groups: IDA infants (IDA-In; n = 36, aged 3-11 months), IDA children (IDA-Ch; n = 23, aged 12-32 months), and healthy controls (HCs; n = 32, aged 6-34 months). RESULTS: There was a higher number of premature, low birth weight (LBW), and faster gaining weight infants in the IDA-In group. Their diet diversity was lower than IDA-Ch and HC. In contrast, the IDA-Ch group had no signs of impaired iron stores at birth or higher iron need for fast growth; their diet diversity was similar to that of HC, but meat was introduced later as compared with those in the IDA-In and HC groups. Consumption of cow's milk was rather low among all study participants, but consumption of sugar-added products was found to be a new emerging problem. Exclusive breastfeeding did not differ in duration and prevalence; the age for introduction of complementary foods was similar in all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Low compliance with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on breastfeeding and complementary feeding suggests an urgent need for nutritional counseling in early childhood, especially in premature, LBW, and fast gaining weight infants.

Food security in the Baltic Republics.

OBJECTIVES: Food insecurity has become an important issue in many countries of the former Soviet Union following the transition to a market economy. This study examined three aspects of food security in the Baltic Republics: reasons for choosing foods; level of dependence on home-grown or raised foods; and use of home-grown vegetables. DESIGN: Cross-sectional surveys. SETTING: Data from surveys conducted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the summer of 1997 were used to describe the three aspects of food security and their socio-economic correlates (using descriptive statistics and logistic regression). SUBJECTS: Representative samples of adults were selected in each country (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, ). RESULTS: Cost was the most commonly reported reason for choosing foods, particularly in Lithuania (67%) and Latvia (60%) (Estonia 41%), and especially among people with lower income levels. In each country, large proportions of respondents depended partially or entirely on home-grown or raised foods (Latvia 47%, Lithuania 42%, Estonia 32%) or used home-grown vegetables frequently (Lithuania 66%, Latvia 53%, Estonia 29%); this was particularly the case in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: The issue of food security needs to be examined further in the Baltic Republics and other transitional economies as increased access to safe, healthy foods for all could help improve dietary intake and reduce the high mortality from non-communicable diseases. Access to affordable, high-quality fresh foods by different social groups should be monitored and the potential contribution of home-grown and raised foods to reduce food poverty should be explored further.