Effects of maternal education on diet, anemia, and iron deficiency in Korean school-aged children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We investigated the relationship among socioeconomic status factors, the risk of anemia, and iron deficiency among school-aged children in Korea.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The sample consisted of fourth-grade students aged 10 y recruited from nine elementary schools in Korean urban areas in 2008 (<it>n </it>= 717). Anthropometric and blood biochemistry data were obtained for this cross-sectional observational study. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin levels lower than 11.5 g/dl. Iron deficiency was defined as serum iron levels lower than 40 ug/dl. We also obtained data on parental education from questionnaires and on children's diets from 3-day food diaries. Parental education was categorized as low or high, with the latter representing an educational level beyond high school.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Children with more educated mothers were less likely to develop anemia (<it>P </it>= 0.0324) and iron deficiency (<it>P </it>= 0.0577) than were those with less educated mothers. This group consumed more protein (<it>P </it>= 0.0004) and iron (<it>P </it>= 0.0012) from animal sources than did the children of less educated mothers, as reflected by their greater consumption of meat, poultry, and derivatives (<it>P </it>< 0.0001). Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant inverse relationship between maternal education and the prevalence of anemia (odds ratio: 0.52; 95% confidence interval: 0.32, 0.85).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>As a contributor to socioeconomic status, maternal education is important in reducing the risk of anemia and iron deficiency and in increasing children's consumption of animal food sources.</p