Deficiencias de hierro, ácido fólico y vitamina B12 en relación a anemia, en adolescentes de una zona con alta incidencia de malformaciones congénitas en Venezuela
- 1Universidad Nacional Experimental “Francisco de Miranda” . Caracas
- 2Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas. Caracas
Abstract
Since in recent years for certain age groups, the main cause of anemia is not iron deficiency, we intended to study the effect of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiencies on anemia prevalence in adolescents from Venezuela. One hundred adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years participated in the study. Each subject was interviewed about antecedents and habits and a physical examination and a 24-hour food recall questionnaire were performed. From a blood sample, hemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations were determined and serum was separated for quantification of ferritin, folic acid and vitamin B12 concentrations. Prevalence of anemia was 78% and for iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiencies were 34.66, 90.9 and 18.18%, respectively. From anemic cases, 35.89% presented iron deficiency, while 91.02% presented folic acid deficiency. Only 19.23% of adolescents with anemia presented also vitamin B12 deficiency, but all the cases with vitamin B12 deficiency, were anemic. Simultaneous iron and folic acid deficiencies affected 30.76% of anemic cases. The high prevalence of deficiencies found in this work could be explained by insufficient intake and inadequate food habits. The prevalence of anemia was associated to folic acid deficiency rather than to iron deficiency, due to the high prevalence of folic acid deficiency. The high prevalence of nutritional deficiencies found in this work, especially regarding folic acid deficiency, require immediate interventions.
Related
- Política Nacional de Atenção às Cardiopatias Congênitas: Reflexões e Propostas para o Fortalecimento da Assistência no Brasil
- Innovation in medical surge capacity during the 2026 Venezuela earthquake response: operationalising a Specialised Care Team for Emergency Remote Clinical Support
- Psychoeducational interventions for children and adolescents with potentially traumatic experiences: a systematic review Intervenciones psicoeducactivas para niños y adolescentes con experiencias potencialmente traumáticas: una revisión sistemática
- MORBIMORTALIDADE HOSPITALAR E CUSTOS DAS INTERNAÇÕES POR DEFICIÊNCIAS HEREDITÁRIAS DA COAGULAÇÃO (HEMOFILIAS A E B) NO SISTEMA ÚNICO DE SAÚDE (2016‒2025)
- Patterns of perceptions and beliefs about PrEP and their association with daily oral PrEP initiation among sexual and gender diverse adolescents in Brazil Padrões de percepções e crenças sobre a PrEP e sua associação com o início da PrEP oral diária entre adolescentes com diversidade sexual e de gênero no Brasil Patrones de percepciones y creencias sobre PrEP y su asociación con el inicio de la PrEP oral diaria entre adolescentes sexual y genéricamente diversos en Brasil
BibTeX
@article{suarez2026deficiencias,
title = {{Deficiencias de hierro, ácido fólico y vitamina B12 en relación a anemia, en adolescentes de una zona con alta incidencia de malformaciones congénitas en Venezuela}},
author = {Teresa Suárez and Mónica Torrealba and Neifred Villegas and Crisol Osorio and Maria Nieves Garcia‐Casal},
journal = {Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.37527/2005.55.2.002},
url = {https://doi.org/10.37527/2005.55.2.002},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Deficiencias de hierro, ácido fólico y vitamina B12 en relación a anemia, en adolescentes de una zona con alta incidencia de malformaciones congénitas en Venezuela
AU - Teresa Suárez
AU - Mónica Torrealba
AU - Neifred Villegas
AU - Crisol Osorio
AU - Maria Nieves Garcia‐Casal
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/05
JO - Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición
DO - 10.37527/2005.55.2.002
UR - https://doi.org/10.37527/2005.55.2.002
AB - Since in recent years for certain age groups, the main cause of anemia is not iron deficiency, we intended to study the effect of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiencies on anemia prevalence in adolescents from Venezuela. One hundred adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years participated in the study. Each subject was interviewed about antecedents and habits and a physical examination and a 24-hour food recall questionnaire were performed. From a blood sample, hemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations were determined and serum was separated for quantification of ferritin, folic acid and vitamin B12 concentrations. Prevalence of anemia was 78% and for iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiencies were 34.66, 90.9 and 18.18%, respectively. From anemic cases, 35.89% presented iron deficiency, while 91.02% presented folic acid deficiency. Only 19.23% of adolescents with anemia presented also vitamin B12 deficiency, but all the cases with vitamin B12 deficiency, were anemic. Simultaneous iron and folic acid deficiencies affected 30.76% of anemic cases. The high prevalence of deficiencies found in this work could be explained by insufficient intake and inadequate food habits. The prevalence of anemia was associated to folic acid deficiency rather than to iron deficiency, due to the high prevalence of folic acid deficiency. The high prevalence of nutritional deficiencies found in this work, especially regarding folic acid deficiency, require immediate interventions.
SN - 0004-0622
SN - 2309-5806
ER -