Iron intake and its association with iron-deficiency anemia in agricultural workers' families from the Zona da Mata of Pernambuco, Brazil

OBJECTIVE:To verify the association between dietary iron intake and the occurrence of iron-deficiency anemia in agricultural workers' families from the municipality of Gameleira in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.METHODS:The study population consisted of 46 harvesters' families, consisting of 225 individuals. The food intake of each individual was recorded on three different days by directly weighing the foods consumed. Hemoglobin was determined by fingerstick (HemoCue). This research used the probability of adequacy method to assess iron intake and the paired ttest for comparing groups. The Spearman Mann-Whitney test estimated associations between the dietary variables and anemia.RESULTS:The prevalence of anemia was high in all ages groups and highest (67.6%) in children aged