Chilean Complementary Feeding Program reduces anemia and improves iron status in children aged 11 to 18 months

Background. Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency in the world, primarily affecting infants, young children, and women of childbearing age. Objective. To evaluate the impact of the National Complementary Feeding Program (NCFP) on anemia and iron status in Chilean children aged 11 to 18 months. Methods. Two studies were performed. The first study was performed at one public outpatient health center in Santiago, using data collected in 1999 (n = 128) and 2000 (n = 125), before and after the national introduction of iron-fortified milk. Subsequently, a study of a representative sample (n = 320) from the two most populated areas of the country was performed in 2009. Results. One year after fortification, the prevalence of anemia was 9%; significantly lower (p < .001) than the 27% prevalence observed 1 year before. Ten years after fortification, 14% of children were anemic and 77% of children with anemia (12% of all children) suffered from iron-deficiency anemia. In 2009, 11% of children consuming iron-fortified milk delivered by the NCFP (73%) were anemic, significantly lower (p = .028) than the 21% prevalence of anemia observed in children without consumption. Consumption of iron-fortified milk was positively associated with hemoglobin concentration (r = 0.28, p = .022) and was associated with a lower prevalence of anemia after adjusting for confounding factors (odds ratio, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.26 to 0.96). Conclusions. In Chile, the NCFP has had an impact on the reduction of anemia and improved the iron status of children aged 11 to 18 months. Increasing the consumption of this iron-fortified milk could enhance the impact of the NCFP.