Resumen

SUAREZ, Teresa et al. Deficiencias de hierro, ácido fólico y vitamina B₁₂ en relación a anemia, en adolescentes de una zona con alta incidencia de malformaciones congénitas en Venezuela . ALAN [online]. 2005, vol.55, n.2, pp.118-123. ISSN 0004-0622.

Since in recent years for certain age groups, the main cause of anemia is not iron deficiency, we intended to study the effect of iron, folic acid and vitamin B₁₂  deficiencies on anemia prevalence in adolescents from Venezuela. One hundred adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years participated in the study. Each subject was interviewed about antecedents and habits and a physical examination and a 24-hour food recall questionnaire were performed. From a blood sample, hemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations were determined and serum was separated for quantification of ferritin, folic acid and vitamin B₁₂  concentrations. Prevalence of anemia was 78% and for iron, folic acid and vitamin B₁₂  deficiencies were 34.66, 90.9 and 18.18%, respectively. From anemic cases, 35.89% presented iron deficiency, while 91.02% presented folic acid deficiency. Only 19.23% of adolescents with anemia presented also vitamin B₁₂  deficiency, but all the cases with vitamin B₁₂  deficiency, were anemic. Simultaneous iron and folic acid deficiencies affected 30.76% of anemic cases. The high prevalence of deficiencies found in this work could be explained by insufficient intake and inadequate food habits. The prevalence of anemia was associated to folic acid deficiency rather than to iron deficiency, due to the high prevalence of folic acid deficiency. The high prevalence of nutritional deficiencies found in this work, especially regarding folic acid deficiency, require immediate interventions.

Palabras clave : Anemia; folic acid; iron; vitamin B₁₂; adolescents.