Abstract

SANTOS, Carmen Lúcia de Almeida et al. Iron deficiency during pubertal growth spurt. Rev. bras. crescimento desenvolv. hum. [online]. 2012, vol.22, n.3, pp. 341-347. ISSN 0104-1282.

INTRODUCTION: iron deficiency represents a serious injury to the health and it is associated with damages to the productive capacity of individuals, cognitive development and immune competence. OBJECTIVE: verify the prevalence of iron deficiency in adolescents during the pubertal growth spurt. METHODS: it was made a cross sectional study with clinical, laboratory and socioeconomic adolescents enrolled in Hebiatry Service of the Faculty of Medicine of ABC, in the city of Santo André, SP. Data were collected from 255 medical records containing complete medical history, including physical examination, classification of pubertal development (Tanner), weight, height, diet recall survey and the following laboratory tests: blood count, serum iron, transferrin saturation and stool tests. RESULTS: of the 255 records studied, 162 (63.5%) were in the group of young people who were in the pubertal growth spurt and 93 (36.5%) belonged to the group who were outside the spurt. The presence of iron deficiency was higher among younger adolescents. There frequency of iron deficiency in 37 (14.5%), and 24 (16%) adolescents in the spurt and 13 (11.5%) out of the stretch. Regarding gender, it was found that of the 37 adolescents who had iron deficiency, 24 (64.46%) were males and 13 (35.14%) were females. CONCLUSION: iron deficiency occurred more frequently in male adolescents during pubertal growth spurt and those who practiced sports.

Keywords : adolescence; growth spurt; iron deficiency.

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