Prevalência e fatores associados à anemia em mulheres indígenas Suruí com idade entre 15 e 49 anos, Amaz？nia, Brasil

objectives: to investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with the occurrence of anemia in indigenous surui women aged between 15 and 49 years. methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out based on the 2005 census of sete de setembro indigenous territory in the brazilian state of rond？nia. hemoglobin measurement (hb) was carried out using a portable β-hemoglobinometer. the cut-off points for anemia were hb <12.0 g/dl in non-pregnant women and hb <11.0 g/dl in pregnant women. demographic and socio-economic data were gathered using a standardized questionnaire. the first stage of statistical analysis included the: chi-square; the chi-square linear tendency test; student's t; a test for linearity and analysis of variance. in the second stage, the final logistic model was adjusted. results: the overall prevalence of anemia in non-pregnant women was 67.3% and, in pregnant women, 81.8%. multivariate analysis showed that women with one or two anemic children aged between 6 and 35 months were three times more likely to be anemic; women from the lowest socio-economic stratum were 3.5 times more likely to be anemic. the likelihood of a surui woman of low socio-economic status being anemic was 26% higher than that of one from the highest socio-economic stratum. conclusions: anemia is a serious health problem among surui women and is influenced by household factors, such as having children with anemia and socio-economic circumstances. it is suggested that measures to treat and prevent anemia among the surui take these factors into account.