Prevalence and risk factors of anemia in the mother–child population from a region of the Colombian Caribbean

BACKGROUND: Despite Colombia's robust well-child visits program, Colombian children and mothers still suffer from anemia, especially in populations of lower socioeconomic status. In this study, we aimed to quantify the prevalence and risk factors among mothers and their children attending their well-child visits in Apartadó, a municipality in the Urabá region of the Colombian Caribbean. METHODS: There were 100 mother–child pairs enrolled in this secondary data-analysis study from a health facility in the municipality of Apartadó, Urabá, Colombia, during well-child visits. Self-reported data included child illnesses in the past two weeks (diarrheal, fever, or respiratory symptoms), child feeding practices (breastfeeding, complementary feeding), child vaccinations, and demographic characteristics (mother’s and child’s age, mother’s education, marital status, race, and child sex) and socioeconomic status. Mother and child anthropometry data were collected via standardized weight and height measurements. Mother or child anemia status was collected via a blood test. Chi-squared tests and multivariable logistic regression were used to assess associations between risk factors and anemia. RESULT: The anemia prevalence in children (74%) and mothers (47%) was higher than the Colombian national prevalence. Reported child comorbidities in the preceding two weeks were not significantly associated with child anemia and included respiratory illnesses (60%), fever (46%), and diarrhea (30%). Stunting (8%) was not significantly associated with anemia. Wasting (0%) was not observed in this study. Reported child breastfeeding and complementary feeding were also not significantly associated with child anemia. In adjusted models, the child's significant risk factors for anemia included the mother's "Mestiza" race (OR: 4.681; 95% CI: 1.258, 17.421) versus the Afro-Colombian race. Older children (25–60 months) were less likely to develop anemia than younger (6–24 months) children (OR: 0.073; 95% CI: 0.015, 0.360). CONCLUSIONS: The finding of high anemia prevalence in this study advances our understanding of child and maternal anemia in populations of low socioeconomic status where health care is regularly accessed through well-child programs. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-16475-0.