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Nutritional Epidemiology

Risk of Infant Anemia Is Associated with Exclusive Breast-Feeding and Maternal Anemia in a Mexican Cohort^1,2

Jareen K. Meinzen-Derr^*, M. Lourdes Guerrero, Mekibib Altaye^*, Hilda Ortega-Gallegos, Guillermo M. Ruiz-Palacios and Ardythe L. Morrow^*,3

^* Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; and Departamento de Infectologia, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion, Mexico, DF

³ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Ardythe.Morrow{at}cchmc.org.

The WHO recommends exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) for the first 6 mo of life to decrease the burden of infectious disease. However, some are concerned about the effect of EBF >6 mo on iron status of children in developing countries in which anemia is prevalent. This study examines the risk of anemia in relation to the duration of EBF and maternal anemia in a birth cohort studied between March 1998 and April 2003. All infant birth weights were 2.2 kg. All mothers received home-based peer counseling to promote EBF. Infant feeding data were collected weekly. Nurses measured hemoglobin (Hb) values every 3 mo. Hb was measured in 183 infants at 9 mo of age. Anemia at 9 mo was defined as a Hb value <100 g/L. EBF was defined by WHO criteria and ranged in duration from 0 to 31 wk. At 9 mo, Hb (mean ± SEM) was 114 ± 0.9 g/L; 23 children (12.5%) had Hb levels <100 g/L. EBF >6 mo, but not EBF 4–6 mo, was associated with increased risk of infant anemia compared with EBF <4 mo (odds ratio = 18.4, 95% CI = 1.9, 174.0). Maternal anemia was independently (P = 0.03) associated with a 3-fold increased risk of infant anemia. These associations were not explained by confounding with other maternal or infant factors. By linear regression, a lower infant Hb at 9 mo was associated with increased EBF duration among mothers who had a history of anemia (ß = –0.07, P = 0.003), but not among mothers with no history of anemia. Infants who are exclusively breast-fed for >6 mo in developing countries may be at increased risk of anemia, especially among mothers with a poor iron status; greater attention to this issue is warranted.

KEY WORDS: • infant anemia • maternal anemia • exclusive breast-feeding

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