Low compliance of iron supplementation in infancy and relation to socioeconomic status in Israel

Objective. To evaluate the compliance of parents in purchasing iron-containing drugs for their infants. In addition, we looked for possible socioeconomic characteristics of the parents who prevent their infants from accessing these medications. Design. All infants (4-12 months) whose parents bought (from January to August 1999 and from January to August 2000) the iron-containing drugs as recommended by the Israeli Ministry of Health were retrieved from a database. The socioeconomic status of the citizens was determined according to the "mean real income" (IN-CMV) and "relative income" (INCMS). The percentage of parents who purchased the medication from each district was compared with the socioeconomic status of this population. Results. Forty-four pediatricians' offices in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area were included. The data of 4929 infants was summarized. Only 27% of the parents bought the drugs. Only 11.5% to 20% of parents from the 5 highest socioeconomic classes purchased the medication compared with 43.6% to 57.1% of the parents from the 5 lowest socioeconomic classes. Conclusion. There was low compliance by parents in obtaining iron-containing medications for their infants, mainly among parents from high socioeconomic classes.