Subjects were 235 infants of 4 to 18 months of age who visited the well baby clinic of Kyung Hee University Hospital during January 1974 to August 1974.
The total subjects was divided into 2 subgroups: breast fed infants and cows milk fed infants, and again into 2 differently divided subgroups, ie infants fed with breast and/or cows milk only and infant fed with supplemental foods in addition to breast and/or cows milk.
Each subject were studied for hemoglobin, hematocrit and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and the results were compared between the subgroups.
1) Among the total of 235 cases, breast fed infants were 124 cases (52.8%), cows milk fed infants 97 cases (41.25vo) and mixed fed infants 14 cases (6%).
2) Excluding cases of mixed fed infants, the number of subject make up 221 cases, among them, 156 cases (70.6%) were those who either started or completed weaning, 65 cases (29.4%)
were those who were being fed with breast and/or cows milk only, and 25 cases (11. 3%) were those who continue the milk feeding after 10 months of age.
3) No statistically significant differences were noted in the mean values of hemoglobin, hematocrit and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration between breast fed infant group and cows´ milk fed group. However those values showed gradual decrement from 4 to 6 months of age and reached the lowest values in 10 to 12 months of age in both groups. Neither group and no s.:pplemental feeding group, but there appeared to be some difference in 10 to 12 months of age.
4) In supplemental feeding group, 5.8% revealed hemoglobin value of 10. 5 gm/100 ml or less and 6.4% revealed hematcrit value of 335/. or less. In no supplementary feeding group, oa the other hand, 27.6% showed hemoglobin value of 10. b gm/100 ml or less and 35.1% showed henatocrit value of 33% or less.
5) Overall incidence of anemia was 17. 6%, and incidence of anemia by age groups showed its highest in 7 to 12 months of age and its lowest in 4 to 6 months of age.
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