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Evaluation of the Impact of a Food Program on the Micronutrient Nutritional Status of Argentinean Lactating Mothers

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Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of a food aid program (Plan Más Vida, PMV) on the micronutrient nutritional condition of lactating mothers 1 year after its implementation. The food program provided supplementary diets (wheat- and maize-fortified flour, rice or sugar, and fortified soup) to low-income families from the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A prospective, non-experimental study was carried out to evaluate the micronutrient nutritional status of lactating mothers (n = 178 at baseline and n = 151 after 1 year). Biochemical tests (hemoglobin, ferritin, zinc, vitamin A, and folic acid), anthropometric assessments (weight and height) and dietary surveys (24-h recall) were performed. We found no significant changes in anthropometric values 1 year after the intervention. The risk for vitamin A (retinol 20–30 μg/dl) and folate deficiency significantly decreased 1 year after PMV implementation (56.3 vs. 29.9 and 50.3 vs. 3.4 %, respectively; p < 0.001). Anemia was seen in 25.8 % of lactating mothers at baseline, without statistically significant differences 1 year after (p = 0.439). The nutritional data obtained after assessing the early impact of PMV actions may be useful to provincial health authorities to perform periodic evaluations in the future.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by CICPBA and the Ministry of Human Development, Province of Buenos Aires. The authors are grateful to professionals from the Food Program Department of the Ministry of Human Development, Andrea Touza for logistics support, and Adriana Di Maggio for manuscript edition. Thanks are also due to Prof. Fernando Viteri for a critical review of the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Desarrollo e Investigaciones Pediátricas “Prof. D. Fernando E. Viteri” (IDIP), Hospital de Niños de La Plata, (MS/CIC-PBA), 63 No. 1069, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    Ana Varea, Agustina Malpeli, Liliana Disalvo, María Apezteguía, Mariana Falivene, Guillermina Ferrari, Silvia Pereyras & Horacio F. González

  2. Centro Interdisciplinario Universitario para la Salud (CINUS), Cátedra de Epidemiología, Facultad de Cs. Médicas UNLP, La Plata, Argentina

    Graciela Etchegoyen

  3. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CICPBA), La Plata, Argentina

    Estéban Carmuega & María Vojkovic

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  1. Ana Varea
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  2. Agustina Malpeli
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  3. Liliana Disalvo
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  11. Horacio F. González
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Correspondence to Horacio F. González.

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Varea, A., Malpeli, A., Disalvo, L. et al. Evaluation of the Impact of a Food Program on the Micronutrient Nutritional Status of Argentinean Lactating Mothers. Biol Trace Elem Res 150, 103–108 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-012-9512-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-012-9512-8

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