Iron deficiency and anemia among Indian women in Fiji

Buchanan, John G.; Nixon, A.; Pettit, John E.; Meerkin, Matthew; Patel, Rajan; Pillai, Mgk; Goundar, R.P.S.; Alexander, H. Denis

doi:10.3109/00313028209061376

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Thus, smaller age or parity differences could not be shown due to the size of the sample. However, a study done on healthy non-pregnant Indian Hindu and Muslim women in Fiji 39 , and another done in Buenos Aires 10 , did not find any such association either.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Anaemia among non-pregnant women in rural Bangladesh

Hyder

Persson

Chowdhury

et al. 2001

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To estimate the prevalence and severity of anaemia among non-pregnant women in rural Bangladesh and describe its social distribution. Design: A cross-sectional study conducted in February±March 1996. Haemoglobin concentration was measured on a capillary blood sample by cyanmethaemoglobin method. The World Health Organization (WHO) classification was used to define anaemia. Setting: Twelve randomly selected villages in Fulbaria thana of Mymensingh district, about 110 km northwest of Dhaka city in Bangladesh. Subjects: A systematically selected sample of 179 non-pregnant apparently healthy women aged 15±45 years. Results: Anaemia was highly prevalent (73%; 95%CI 67±79%). Most of the women had mild (52%) or moderate (20%) anaemia, but a few of them suffered from severe anaemia (1%). Ascaris was common (39%) while hookworm was not (1%). The anaemia prevalence had no statistically significant association with age, parity or Ascaris infestation P . 0X05 X Women with less than 1 year of schooling, who were landless or who reported having an economic deficit in the household had significantly higher prevalence of anaemia P , 0X05 X There was a significantly increasing trend in anaemia prevalence with decreasing socioeconomic situation (SES). However anaemia was common in all social strata. Conclusions: Although the overall anaemia prevalence among non-pregnant rural women is high, only a few women suffer from severe anaemia. Women of all SES groups irrespective of their age and parity are affected by anaemia. KeywordsAnaemia Severe anaemia Non-pregnant women Socioeconomic Rural Bangladesh Anaemia is a major public health problem. It has been estimated that 2150 million people in the world are anaemic, of whom about 50% are thought to suffer from iron deficiency anaemia 1 . Iron deficiency and anaemia are most prevalent among pregnant women and young children with the highest prevalence in low income countries 2 . Iron deficiency and anaemia during pregnancy are associated with low birth weight, preterm delivery and increased perinatal mortality 3±5 . Routine supplementation of iron through the primary health care system has been widely practised to reduce maternal anaemia, although the programmes have shown limited effectiveness 6,7 .Women of reproductive age in low income countries who are currently not pregnant are also affected by anaemia 8 . The most important functional consequences are fatigue and reduced productivity 9 . However, the recent interest in iron supplementation of non-pregnant women is mostly rationalized by its potential impact on maternal anaemia. Prepregnancy haemoglobin concentration and iron status are believed to be predisposing factors for maternal anaemia.Several studies have found a negative association between socioeconomic situation (SES) and anaemia prevalence 10±12 . Women from poor households are usually found to have higher anaemia prevalence. Poor SES is known to be associated with a number of factors such as high parity, short birth interval, poor diet both in quant...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Anaemia among non-pregnant women in rural Bangladesh

Hyder

Persson

Chowdhury

et al. 2001

Public Health Nutr.

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“…These conditions are also relevant to interpreting the current results: in particular, the absence of estimates of hookworm intensity resulted in the exclusion of studies, some of which, reported no association between hookworm infection and the risk of anaemia [34]–[36]; while others reported a significant association [37]–[38]. Anaemia in developing countries has multiple causes, including micro-nutrient deficiencies, infectious diseases and inherited disorders [39], and as such, the observed relationship between Hb and hookworm infection may be confounded by other causes of anaemia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hookworm-Related Anaemia among Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review

2008

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Background and ObjectivesHookworm infection is among the major causes of anaemia in poor communities, but its importance in causing maternal anaemia is poorly understood, and this has hampered effective lobbying for the inclusion of anthelmintic treatment in maternal health packages. We sought to review existing evidence on the role of hookworm as a risk factor for anaemia among pregnant women. We also estimate the number of hookworm infections in pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).MethodsStructured searches using MEDLINE and EMBASE as well as manual searches of reference lists were conducted, and unpublished data were obtained by contacting authors. Papers were independently reviewed by two authors, and relevant data were extracted. We compared haemoglobin concentration (Hb) according to intensity of hookworm infection and calculated standardised mean differences and 95% confidence intervals. To estimate the number of pregnant women, we used population surfaces and a spatial model of hookworm prevalence.FindingsOne hundred and five reports were screened and 19 were eligible for inclusion: 13 cross-sectional studies, 2 randomised controlled trials, 2 non-randomised treatment trials and 2 observational studies. Comparing uninfected women and women lightly (1–1,999 eggs/gram [epg]) infected with hookworm, the standardised mean difference (SMD) was −0.24 (95% CI: −0.36 to −0.13). The SMD between women heavily (4000+ epg) infected and those lightly infected was −0.57 (95% CI: −0.87 to −0.26). All identified intervention studies showed a benefit of deworming for maternal or child health, but since a variety of outcomes measures were employed, quantitative evaluation was not possible. We estimate that 37.7 million women of reproductive age in SSA are infected with hookworm in 2005 and that approximately 6.9 million pregnant women are infected.ConclusionsEvidence indicates that increasing hookworm infection intensity is associated with lower haemoglobin levels in pregnant women in poor countries. There are insufficient data to quantify the benefits of deworming, and further studies are warranted. Given that between a quarter and a third of pregnant women in SSA are infected with hookworm and at risk of preventable hookworm-related anaemia, efforts should be made to increase the coverage of anthelmintic treatment among pregnant women.

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Hookworm Infection in Oceania

Bradbury

Traub

2016

Neglected Tropical Diseases

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Iron deficiency and anemia among Indian women in Fiji

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

Anaemia among non-pregnant women in rural Bangladesh

Anaemia among non-pregnant women in rural Bangladesh

Hookworm-Related Anaemia among Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review

Hookworm Infection in Oceania

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