Resumen

MEERTENS, Lesbia; SOLANO, Liseti  y  SANCHEZ, Armando. Hemoglobina, ferritina y zinc sérico de mujeres en edad reproductiva: Su asociación con el uso de anticonceptivos. An Venez Nutr [online]. 2002, vol.15, n.1, pp.5-10. ISSN 0798-0752.

Women in reproductive age are one of the groups at risk of specific nutrient deficiencies. Iron deficiency anemia in the fertile woman is one of the most frequent nutritional problems, while the deficiency of zinc has been associated to the use of oral contraceptive in this same group. The purpuse of this study was to determine the hemoglobin levels, serum zinc and ferritin of women in reproductive ages. The sample consisted of 60 women 15 to 45 years of age, apparently healthy, that attended the family planning control clinic of the regional health service. Hemoglobin was determined by an automated method, ferritine by enzyme immunoassay and zinc by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Body Mass Index (BMI) was used to assess nutritional status. Use of contraceptives was determined. Mean values for hemoglobin, ferritin and serum zinc were 12.98±1.4 g/dL, 30.77±18.78 ng/ml, and 77.12±11.87 g/dl, respectively. Fifteen percent of the women was found undernourished, 13.3% presented overweight, and 13.3% obesity. Thirteen percent of the assessed women presented iron deficiency anemia and 41.8% hypozincemia. No significant association was found among iron and zinc deficiency and anticonceptive use. These results suggest the need for intervention in this vulnerable group.

Palabras clave : Reproductive age; hemoglobin; ferritin; zinc; intra-uterine device; oral contraceptives.