In News
- Recently, critics have said that anaemia among adolescent girls and boys and women has been studied extensively but anaemia in men has been largely ignored.
What is Anaemia?
- Meaning
- Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal.
- Haemoglobin is needed to carry oxygen and if you have too few or abnormal red blood cells, or not enough haemoglobin, there will be a decreased capacity of the blood to carry oxygen to the body’s tissues.
- Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal.
- Causes of Anaemia
- The most common causes of anaemia include nutritional deficiencies which include iron deficiency.
- Though deficiencies in folate, vitamins B12 and A are also important causes; haemoglobinopathies; and infectious diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and parasitic infections.
- Symptoms
- It includes fatigue, weakness, dizziness and drowsiness.
- Children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable, with an increased risk of maternal and child mortality.
- Treatment
- While iron deficiency anaemia is the most common form and is relatively easy to treat through dietary changes.
- Other forms of anaemia require health interventions that may be less accessible.
- Implications
- It affects cognitive and physical development in children and reduces productivity in adults.
- Anaemia is an indicator of both poor nutrition and poor health.
- It can also impact other global nutritional concerns such as stunting and wasting, low birth weight and childhood overweight and obesity due to lack of energy to exercise.
- School performance in children and reduced work productivity in adults due to anaemia can have further social and economic impacts for the individual and family.
|
Data/Facts on Anaemia
|
Government Interventions
- Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB)
- It is a strategy with the target to reduce anaemia in women, children and adolescents in a life cycle approach.
- It includes Testing of anaemia using digital methods and point-of-care treatment.
- Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS)
- Government implements Anganwadi Services, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana and a Scheme for Adolescent Girls under the Umbrella of ICDS as targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country.
- POSHAN Abhiyaan: It is a flagship national nutrition mission to improve nutrition among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
- Introduction of community-based programmes
- The introduction of community-based programmes for severe acute malnutrition, Jan Andolans, and community-based events, as well as the strengthening collaboration across departments has led to the implementation of a holistic approach to addressing malnutrition.
- Mid-Day Meal Scheme: It is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children.
Way forward/ Suggestions
- Biological viewpoint: Men are not so likely to be iron deficiency as men do not lose iron every month through menstruation.
- In fact, men do not lose iron unless they are bleeding from somewhere or have some abnormal haemoglobin like thalassemia or sickle cell anaemia.
- Extension of policies: The benefits of existing programmes and policies related to anaemia eradication should be extended to men as well.
- Targeted interventions among susceptible groups of rural men are advised to reduce the prevalence of anaemia.
- Need of accurate calculation measures: factor that might have overestimated the prevalence of anaemia in rural men is the use of capillary blood samples to measure haemoglobin.
- Capillary blood samples inflate anaemia prevalence by as much as 33% to 50% in women.
- Proper nutrition: The need of the hour is to increase the diversity of foods to improve iron and vitamin intake in men, without chemicals.
Source:IE
