Recommendation and use of ferrous sulphate in 12- and 24-month-old children: evaluation in the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort.

Aim: To verify the prevalence of recommendation of iron supplementation among children aged 12 and 24 months.

Methodology: All children born in the maternities of Pelotas/RS in 2015 were eligible for the Cohort. The outcomes were the recommendation of ferrous sulphate by health professionals and its use.

Results: The cohort followed up 4,275 children. Approximately 64.0% of them were recommended to receive iron supplementation until 12 months of age. Among these, 68.8% used iron. From 12 to 24 months, 39.4% of the children received a prescription of iron supplementation, and among them, 26.2% actually used it. At 12 months, after adjusted analysis, higher maternal education, higher family income, lower parity, and low birth weight remained associated with the outcome. At 24 months, after adjusted analysis, we observed a higher recommendation of iron supplementation among mother with lower parity and for children with low birth weight.

Conclusion: There was a low frequency of recommendation and low rate of use of iron among children. These findings are highly relevant given the high prevalence of anemia observed in children this year. The low recommendation of iron use among children up to 24 months of age, and the low use among those who are recommended to use it reflect the need for coordinated actions among health professionals and the expansion of knowledge among mothers to enable a wider reach of this important public policy.