Introduction:

Anemia and its eradication is a priority of health organizations. The implementation of nutritional supplemental programs for its reduction is carried out by several institutions.

Objective:

To characterize anemia in the children who were beneficiaries of EquiDar project, in Azuay, Ecuador from 2015 to 2016.

Methods:

Prospective approach with non-experimental, observational, descriptive-associative and cross-sectional design carried out in the period 2015-2016 in Canton Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador. The probabilistic sample corresponded to 1091 children who are benefit from EquiDar project. Biometry was performed using automated equipment. The hematologic indices obtained were normalized according to the height. Data were processed with SPSS 23.0 and using descriptive and inferential statistics with methods for the comparison of means and proportions (H Kruskall Wallis, Mann Whitney U and square-Ji).

Results:

The prevalence of anemia was 23.96 %, predominantly in the preschool ages and in the rural areas. Increasing age corrects the condition by inverse association. The main type of anemia in the sample is hypocromic normocytic, followed by macrocytic anemia. The level of macrocytosis in the population was high (56 %) in both anemic and non-anemic individuals, suggesting the concurrence of other pathologies as causative agent.

Conclusions:

The incidence of anemia in the sample is a moderate public health problem influenced by sociodemographic variables. The reversion of the phenomenon surpasses the nutritional dimension being necessary policies with multifactorial approach that integrate the nutritional, educative and public health areas.

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