Journal of East China Normal University(Educationa ›› 2019, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (3): 58-69.doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2019.03.005

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Current Status and Influencing Factors of Infant Anemia in Poor Rural Areas of Western China

Nie Jingchun, Yang Jie, Zhang Lifang, Li Ying, Yang Jiuyou   

  1. Center for Experimental Economics in Education at Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China
  • Online:2019-05-20 Published:2019-05-21

Abstract:

This study analyzed the occurrence and influencing factors of iron deficiency anemia among 4,722 infants aged 6-37 months from poor rural areas of Western China. The data show that infant anemia is still a high incidence problem in poor rural areas of Western China, with an average of 44.4% of infants suffering from anemia. For infants aged 6-12 months, the anemia rate is even as high as 49.7%, but mainly mild anemia. The anemia status of infants and young children did not improve with the age of month, yet showed a slight upward trend in different years. Research suggests that anemia at 6-12 months of age is significantly correlated with their subsequent development. All of these facts indicate that interventions are needed to improve anemia of infants and young children in poor rural areas of Western China. The analysis of influencing factors shows that the most important factor is the feeding behavior of the caregivers. We should actively seek and establish effective channels to provide nutritional and health knowledge to infant and child's caregivers, provide social support for infant and child feeding environment, and improve the feeding behavior of caregivers, so as to promote the healthy growth of infants and children.

Key words: infants, anemia, nutrition, poor rural areas, feeding behavior