Comparison of pica in breastfeeding versus artificial feeding in children 2 years of age or younger

الملخص EN

Background: Pica is the daily compulsive eating of food or nonfood items not part of one’s habitual diet or preferences, which is inappropriate to the developmental level.

Pica is a distinctive but poorly understood accompaniment of iron deficiency or depletion in some children, although most pica items contain little or no iron.

Objectives: The objective of the study is to assess and compare pica in breastfed versus artificially fed children aged 2 years or younger in Hilla city, Babylon Province, Iraq.

Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive hospital based cross-sectional study which was carried out on a convenient sample of 150 children aged 2-year-old or younger who attended pediatric clinics in three hospitals in Babylon Province in the Center of Iraq who accepted to participate in this study.

Results: The study found that the mean age (month) of children with childhood pica is 14.51 ± 4.13 with the mean birth weight (g) is 2812.83 ± 533.18, the gender gap in childhood pica is in favor of male children (69.3%).

The study found that almost two‑thirds of children with pica were breastfed (68.7%) while the other onethird was artificially fed.

The majority of children suffering from pica consumed the material clay (43.3%).

The mean of hemoglobin (Hb) (g/dl), total serum iron (µg/dl), and serum ferritin (ng/ml) and which is 8.44 ± 1.50, 7.68 ± 2.36, and 6.36 ± 1.54, respectively.

Conclusion: Children with pica had low level of Hb, iron, and ferritin which mimics the hematological picture accompanying iron deficiency anemia.

There is a significant mean difference between the type of feeding of children with pica and the birth weight, serum iron, Hb, and serum ferritin.

Furthermore, there is a significant association between type of feedings and the following variables: gestational age, onset of pica, birth order, and spacing between births.