A nurse is planning care for a child with iron deficiency anemia. Characteristics of iron ...

ANS: A, C, E
Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional disorder of infancy and childhood, with the highest incidence occurring between 6 months and 2 years of age. Incidence is not related to gender or race, but socioeconomic factors are important because they affect nutrition. The symp-toms of mild anemialistlessness and fatigueusually are not present or are undetectable in in-fants and young children who are unable to describe these symptoms. Therefore, parents gener-ally do not note any change in the child's behavior or appearance until moderate anemia has de-veloped.