Publication:

Assessment of prevalence of anemia and study of anemic patients in population of Nanded district

Background Anemia is one of the most common health problems in India. Understanding the variations among the prevalence of anemia between population groups in this large and heterogeneous country is crucial to inform relevant health policy and health service interventions. The present study was conducted to assess prevalence of anemia in the population of Nanded district, Maharashtra.

Methods All subjects between 13-70 years of age were enrolled in the study for screening of prevalence of anemia. Under complete aseptic conditions, 10 ml of blood was withdrawn from antecubital vein and 2 ml was used for complete blood count estimation and for further blood investigations as necessary. Various hematological parameters were tested in correlation to history and clinical examination of the patients. All data thus obtained was arranged in tabulated form and analyzed using SPSS software.

Results There were a total of 2190 subjects evaluated, out of these 560 were anemic and 1630 were non-anemic. Out of 560 anemic subjects, 420 were of female gender and remaining 140 were male. The mean iron levels were 64±34 μg/dl. The mean screen ferritin levels were 201±183 ng/dl.

Conclusions There were 26% of subjects in our study who were anemic, and majority of them were females Although, Iron deficiency anemia revealed as a most common type of anemia, vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiencies also contributed significantly to nutritional anemias. The disease widely occurs and affects mostly children of growing age, females in reproductive ages and elderly population.