Anaemia higher among rural poor, iron deficiency afflicts urban rich
The Hindu
Solutions focusing merely on increasing iron intake not enough, shows study
Scientists at the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) here have reported that anaemia — reduced haemoglobin or red blood cells — is high in rural, poor children while iron deficiency is more among the urban and rich across the country. Although anaemia prevalence was higher in rural and poorer children as well as adolescents, counter-intuitively, iron deficiency was less common among them. Similarly, anaemia was found to be lower among their urban counterparts while iron deficiency was seen more in them. In a recently published research paper in collaboration with the ‘Journal of Nutrition’, scientists analysed data on iron deficiency in the blood samples collected in the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) conducted in 2016-18 under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The study included a representative sample of more than 33,000 children and adolescents in different states. It showed about 30-32% pre-school children and adolescent girls had iron deficiency whereas this proportion was lower (11-15%) in case of children aged 5-9 years. This finding provided new insights into the public health problem of anaemia, which, according to surveys, affects almost 40-50% women and children in the country.More Related News