Anemia and effective verbal communication in children aged 9 to 36 months

Abstract

Effective Verbal Communication (EVC) is the ability to understand and say what children feel and think, which could be affected by anemia. 

Objective: to determine the association between anemia and EVC at a comprehensive and expressive level according to age in children from 9 to 36 months. 

Subjects and Method: study based on the 2020 Demographic and Family Health Survey of Peru, using a cross-sectional design. Women with no-disabled children aged 9 to 36 months with hemoglobinometry, participants of the Early Childhood Development Module were selected. The degree of anemia was classified according to hemoglobin levels as: normal 11.0 to 14.0; mild 10.0 to 10.9; moderate 7.0 to 9.9, and severe < 7.0 g/dL. These categorizations considered the hemoglobin level adjusted for altitude. For bivariate and multivariate analysis, anemia was defined as present (hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dL) or absent (≥ 11.0 g/dL). EVC was measured with the “Battelle Developmental Inventory”, modified and validated for Peruvian children. Binary logistic regression was used, where EVC was the dependent variable and anemia together with other covariates was the independent variable. 

Results: 26.2% and 10.9% of children had mild and moderate-severe anemia, respectively. The proportion of children with EVC without risk according to age was: 9 to 12 months (76.6%), 13 to 18 months (35.4%), 19 to 23 months (25.6%), and 24 to 36 months (55.3%). The association between anemia and EVC was not significant in any age range. The covariates associated with EVC without risk were: sex (13-36 months), maternal literacy (9-12 and 24-36 months), place of residence (24-36 months), and iron administration in the last 12 months (13-18 months). 

Conclusions: anemia is not a factor associated with EVC according to age; there would be other causal pathways that would put the development of EVC at risk.