Nutrients · 7 authors, 3 centres
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This cross-sectional study of children aged 9–16 in rural Guangzhou identified four dietary patterns and found that the fast food pattern was positively associated with anemia, particularly in girls, while the meat and egg pattern was negatively associated with anemia in boys after spermatorrhea.
This cross-sectional study surveyed children aged 9–16 years in rural areas of Guangzhou, China to examine associations between dietary patterns and anemia. Four dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis: fast food, vegetarian, meat and egg, and rice and wheat patterns. The overall prevalence of anemia was 10.43%, with a prevalence of 6.1% among boys and 15.38% among girls. The fast food pattern was positively correlated with anemia in girls, and the meat and egg pattern was negatively associated with anemia in boys after spermatorrhea. When pubescent boys and girls were combined, both associations were observed. The authors attribute these associations to differences in iron bioavailability and nutrient intake across patterns. Limitations include potential recall bias, inability to establish causality due to the cross-sectional design, and regional dietary culture differences limiting generalizability.
