ABSTRACTObjective:To analyze the temporal evolution of anemia in children aged six to 59 months
in Pernambuco, based on population surveys from 1997, 2006, and 2016 and the
factors associated with the situation in 2016.Methods:The field studies took place in the participants’ households, in the Recife
Metropolitan Area, as well as in the urban and rural inland. The trend study
of anemia in children used data from the State Health and Nutrition Survey
(Pesquisa Estadual de Saúde e Nutrição— PESN) II
(40.9%) and III (32.8%). Data from PESN IV were collected using
questionnaires administered to families to verify socioeconomic and
individual conditions, as well as anthropometric — weight and height — and
biochemical — hemoglobin — records. We adopted the test for trend in
proportion for the time trend study and Poisson regression for hypothesis
tests for the associated factors. Statistically significance was set at a
p-value<0.05.Results:In 2016, the prevalence of anemia was 24.2%, indicating a significant
reduction in disease incidence. In children aged 6–23 months, this number
decreased from PENS II and III to PENS IV — 63 and 55.6 to 37.7%
(p<0.001), respectively. In 2016, the statistically significant variables
for anemia in children were maternal hemoglobin, child's age, current or
recent case of diarrhea, and weight-for-age indexConclusion:Between 1997 and 2016, anemia rates decreased, showing an epidemiological
trend that can contribute to continuously improve the health of children
under five years of age in Pernambuco.