Infants, aged 9-18 months, with a recorded hemoglobin level
Infants who were 6 to 17 months old at the start of the measured year
Identifying anemia in early childhood is important due to its impact on overall growth and cognitive development. Anemia can be detected through a simple blood test. One of the most common causes of anemia in young children is iron deficiency, which is relatively easy to correct (1). For this reason, the Israeli Ministry of Health recommends routine screening for anemia in all infants at around one year of age. Data from Israel show a clear downward trend in the prevalence of anemia among infants, particularly in the Jewish population, since the Ministry of Health's recommendations in 1985 (2).
1. Pala E, Erguven M, Guven S, Erdogan M, Balta T. Psychomotor development in children with iron. deficiency and iron deficiency anemia. Food Nutr Bull. 2010;31(3):431–5.
2. משרד הבריאות. חוזר ראש שירותי בריאות הציבור. תדריך למניעת אנמיה וחוסר ברזל בתינוקות ובפעוטות. 2012.
