A Study on Nutritional Status of Iron and Lipids in Infants

Choi, Kwang Hea; Shin, Son Moon; Oh, Kee Hwa; Seo, Jung Sook; Kim, Kwang Soo; Choi, Yung Sun

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to get baseline data to establish a guideline for the infant nutrition by observing the feeding practice and nutritional intake during infancy and evaluationg the nutritional status of iron and lipids at 12-month-old infants.
METHODS
This survery was cnducted from July to November, 1992. Subjects were healthy infants who were brought to Yeungnam University Hospital for vaccination. We followed up feeding methods for 6 months in 120 infants, and laboratory tests which include hemoglobin, fematocrit, MCHC, ferritin, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride and urea nitrogen/creatinine ratio were done in 36 infants at 12 months of age.
RESULTS
Male to female sex ratio was 1.6:1 in total 120 study infants. Among 36 infants who took laboratory tests, five infants were breast-fed, 25 were formula-fed, and 6 were mexed-fed. Percentage of the formula-fed infants increased as their monthly age increases. Although 54.2% of the studied infants were started weaning diet at four months of age, 10.8% of infants were not given any weaning diet until 6 month of age. Breastfed infnats had lower hemoglobin(10.6+/-1.8g/dl), hematocrit(32.6+/-3.6%), serum ferritin(13.6+/-13.1ng/ml)(p<0.05), and 15.6% of them had anemia and 16.7% of them had iron deficiency. Serum lipids levels except total cholesterol in breaset-fed female infants were comparable between groups.
CONCLUSIONS
We confirm that the incidence of iron deficiency anemia was increased in breast fed infants and there was no difference in lipids levels according to different feeding methods. Adequate iron supplementation through weaning diets is one of the most important problems in breast milk feeding