[Prevalence of ferropenia and iron deficiency anemia in a rural school population, 4 to 16 years of age].

The ferropenic, is an important disturbance in the childhood due to its frequency, and the necessity of a permanent increase of iron at this age, other factors can be added, such as the iron demand and hemorrhagic loss in puberty. We studied 214 rural school children, between 4 and 16 years in Tenerife, among who two girls, 13 and 14 years old, and one boy 11 years old showed clear ferropenic (1.4%). Another four (1.8%) 3 girls with 14.14 and 9 years, and one boy with 7 years showed latent ferropenic. Overall the ferropenic incidence was 3.2%. There was not ferropenic anemia in any case. These results are similar to those found in another study in urban school children of the same ages, in the same island.