Anaemia among women and children continues to be a cause of concern. As per the 5th National Family Health Survey (NFHS 5) data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently, more than half of the children and women are anaemic in 13 of the 22 States/UTs in the country.
Not only this, anaemia among pregnant women too has increased in half of the States/UTs compared to NFHS-4, in spite of substantial increase in the consumption of IFA tablets by pregnant women for 180 days or more. Doctors believe that provision of iron and folic acid supplements in health programmes will not solve the problem of anaemia.
Anemia is a condition that develops when there is iron deficiency or lack of healthy red blood cells or haemoglobin in the blood.
They said that supplementation of only iron and folic acid is inadequate to prevent or correct anaemia among adolescents. Other haemopoietic (blood forming) nutrients are equally important in managing it. In addition to iron, there are other nutrients that prevent or reduce anaemia and these include vitamin B6, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, vitamin C, folate and proteins. These nutrients are actively involved in the process of blood formation (haemopoiesis), pointed out various studies.
In fact, a study conducted by Metropolis Healthcare, found that six in 10 women from 36 cities of India have low haemoglobin levels, indicating anemia.
The incidence of anemia was reported highest in the age group of 20 to 50. The study was conducted for 17,00,000 girls and women across India, including 11,41,600 girls and women from Mumbai alone, over a period of two years. The most common signs to watch out for anemia are lethargy, unexplained fatigue, pale skin and pale eyes.
The NFHS latest data pertains to 17 states — including Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal — and five Union Territories (including J&K) and, crucially, captures the state of health in these states before the Covid pandemic. Phase 2 of the survey, which will cover other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, was delayed due to the pandemic and its results are expected to be made available in May 2021, said a senior official from the Union Health Ministry.
The data also shows that for both women and men, there is a lot of variation in the high or very high random blood glucose levels across States/UTs.
“Men are more likely to have slightly higher blood glucose levels in the range of high or very high compared to women. The percentage of men with high or very high blood glucose is highest in Kerala (27 per cent) followed by Goa (24 per cent). Prevalence of elevated blood pressure (hypertension) among men, is somewhat higher than in women,” as per the data.