OBJECTIVE: To identify and quantify the risk factors for anemia in infants enrolled in public or philanthropic day care centers in São Paulo city and discuss the impact of the actions of day care centers in controlling this specific nutritional deficiency. METHODS: Cross-sectional study comprising 212 infants of two public and three philanthropic day care centers. Interviews with the mothers, collection of blood by digital puncture and anthropometry were performed. Anemia was characterized by hemoglobin levels below 11g/dL. A logistic regression model for risk factors between groups of infants with and without anemia was adjusted. RESULTS: The prevalence of anemia was 51.9%. The final logistic model comprised 4 variables: presence of one or more siblings under 5 years of age (Odds Ratio=2.57; p=0.005), attending day care centers that are managed exclusively by the government (Odds Ratio=2.12; p=0.020), less than 2 months of exclusive breastfeeding (Odds Ratio=1.88; p=0.044), age under 15 months (Odds Ratio=2.32; p=0.006). CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of anemia evidences the inefficiency of the studied day care centers in controlling and preventing this nutritional deficiency; therefore, it is up to the health planner to consider the identified and quantified risks for anemia when elaborating control and prevention programs.
anemia; child day care centers; risk factors; infant
