Explain the Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia?

We can find out about the prevalence of anaemia if we know what percentage of population is suffering from anaemia. The WHO has recommended different cut-off levels of haemoglobin below which an individual is considered as anaemic. These are indicated in Table. These values are dependent on age, sex and physiological status.

Table: WHO haemoglobin cut-off criteria

Assessment of anaemia is based on estimation of these criteria for cut-off values for haemoglobin. You probably know that women of child bearing age, including adolescent girls, are at the highest risk of developing anitemia followed by preschool children, school children and adult men. A number of sample surveys carried out recently in 0 our country showed that 60-80% of pregnant women had haemoglobin levels below 11 g/dl rind about 10 percent hacl severe anaemia with less than 8 g/dl. Even among preschool children, about 40-50% were anaemic. In the villages near Kolkata, where hookworm infestation was common, more than 90% of the population was anaemie. These data clearly indicate that in India there is a need to cover the entire population in the intervention programme designed to control anaemia. So far we have looked at the signs and symptoms and prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia. Let us elaborate on what causes iron deficiency anaemia.