Table 2 Comparison of children assessed with and without anemia, a municipality in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2024

General characteristics

 Sex

Male

33 (56.9)

29 (53.7)

0.849¹

 Age

Months

29.2 ± 7.5

28.0 ± 8.4

0.929²

 Maternal education

< 8 years

47 (81.0)

44 (81.5)

0.579¹

 Gestational age

Preterm

3 (5.2)

5 (9.3)

0.110²

 Birth weight

grams

3366 ± 548

3257 ± 416

0.244²

 Type of delivery

C-section

20 (34.5)

15 (27.8)

0.571¹

Dietary habits

 Current breastfeeding

Yes

9 (15.5)

6 (11.1)

0.584¹

 Current infant formula

Yes

27 (46.6)

30 (55.6)

0.283¹

 Current cow's milk

Yes

36 (62.1)

35 (64.8)

0.845¹

 Time Exclusive breastfeeding

Months

4.0 (2.2; 5.7)

4.5 (3.0; 6.0)

0.368³

 Time Total breastfeeding

Months

4.0 (2.2; 6.7)

9.0 (3.0; 12.0)

0.843³

 Starting age Infant formula

Months

3.5 (2.5; 5.5)

6.5 (2.2; 8.0)

0.361³

 Age of onset of cow's milk

Months

12.0 (6.5; 12.0)

12.0 (8.0; 12.0)

0.467³

 Use of Iron Supplements

Yes

45 (77.6)

44 (81.5)

0.647¹

Health follow-up, socioeconomic status

 Follow-up with a pediatrician

Yes

48 (82.8)

47 (87.0)

0.537¹

 Family Health Strategy

Yes

39 (67.2)

41 (75.9)

0.403¹

 Income Transfer Program

Yes

15 (25.9)

10 (18.5)

0.374¹

 Family economic situation

> B2

36 (63.2)

24 (45.3)

0.084¹

 Food and Nutrition Insecurity

No

27 (47.4)

26 (49.2)

0.831¹

Anthropometric indicators

 Body Mass Index/Age

Z score

0.33 ± 1.24

0.79 ± 1.12

0.023¹

 Height/Age

Z score

−1.34 ± 1.08

−0.94 ± 1.28

0.044¹

Dietary pattern (0–23 months)

 Minimal food diversity

Yes

11 (61.1)

17 (81.0)

0.285¹

 Minimum meal frequency

Yes

17 (94.4)

18 (85.7)

0.609¹

 Frequency of milk consumption

Yes

9 (50.0)

17 (81.0)

0.087¹

 Minimum acceptable diet

Yes

17 (94.4)

18 (85.7)

0.609¹

 Egg and/or meat consumption

Yes

14 (77.8)

17 (81.0)

0.588¹

 Consumption of sweet drinks

Yes

9 (50.0)

10 (47.6)

0.568¹

 Consumption of unhealthy foods

Yes

11 (61.1)

11 (52.4)

0.577¹

 No vegetable consumption

No

17 (94.4)

18 (85.7)

0.609¹

Markers of inflammation

 hsCRP

mg/L

2.39 (0.68; 14.5)

1.25 (0.20; 3.41)

0.008³

 Alpha-1 Acid Glycoprotein

g/L

1.36 ± 0.40

1.23 ± 0.43

0.092²

Iron profile markers and anemia

 Hemoglobin

g/dL

10.4 ± 0.64

11.7 ± 0.57

< 0.001²

 Red blood cells

mm³

4.23 ± 0.34

4.60 ± 0.27

< 0.001²

 MCV

fL

79.2 ± 4.8

80.6 ± 3.4

0.105²

 MCHC

g/dL

31.1 ± 0.86

31.8 ± 0.87

< 0.001²

 Hematocrit

%

33.4 ± 1.9

37.1 ± 1.9

< 0.001²

 RDW

%

14.7 ± 1.37

13.8 ± 0.97

< 0.001²

 Ferritin

mg/dL

44.9 ± 26.3

40.9 ± 23.0

0.400²

 Serum iron

μg/dL

51.1 ± 28.6

60.4 ± 30.2

0.098²

 Transferrin saturation index

%

14.3 ± 7.3

15.8 ± 8.1

0.110²

 Hepcidin

ng/mL

0.79 ± 0.62

0.72 ± 0.56

0.495²

 Soluble transferrin receptor

mg/L

1.35 ± 0.82

1.10 ± 0.61

0.067²