Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9600
ISSN: 2155-9600
Robizon Tsiklauri
GNMSS Project Manager, Georgia
Accepted Abstracts: J Nutr Food Sci
Until 2015, there was not any effective surveillance system in Georgia, which could provide with reliable data of nutritional status of population. With the support of US CDC, in 2015, National CDC launched collaborative project -“Strengthening surveillance of micronutrient deficiency in Georgia”.
Methodology: Sentinel surveillance approach was used by selecting 8 sentinel sites from 4 regions (1 pediatric and 1 antenatal clinic in each Region). Iron and folate deficiency was studied in pregnant women (1st trimester), and iron deficiency in children (12-23 months old). Iron deficiency was defined as plasma concentration of ferritin with cut-off points of <12 μg/l and <15 μg/l for children and pregnant women, respectively. Cut-off point below 3.0 ng/ml was considered as a folate deficiency for pregnant women.
Findings: According to the study carried out under the nutritional surveillance system (in 2018), from 303 children (12 -23 months of age) 35.6% were anemic. Furthermore, 303 were tested for iron deficiency and 74% of them were identified as iron deficient. 15.8 % of pregnant women (tasted 240) were found anemic. 57.2% of pregnant were iron deficient (tasted 240) and 30% had folate deficiency.
Conclusion: iron deficiency is prevalent among both pregnant women and children in Georgia. Additionally, folate deficiency was quite common during the 1st trimester of pregnancy.
Robizon Tsiklauri has good experience in nutritiology, clinical epidemiology and research’s, working during many years in relevant fields, and has made training programs for doctors, which was about problems in Nutritiology and clinical epidemiology issues. He is reading several lectures in High Medical University, attending many popular TV & Radio programs of educating population and Health workers in nutritiology. He is managing of postdoctoral educational programme of qualification at the Tbilisi State Medical University. In 2005-2007 he used to be temporary advisor of WHO (Europe regional office of Europe) in Food and Nutrition field.