Iron Deficiency Anemia Among Women in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan

Qasim Zia; Irfan  Khattak; Malik Nadeem  Azam; Ahmar  Rasheed; Asad  Ali; Anam  Manzoor

doi:10.51253/pafmj.v74i5.9441

Authors

Qasim Zia Department of Internal Medicine, Combined Military Hospital, Skardu/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Irfan Khattak Department of Internal Medicine, Pakistan Navy Station Shifa Hospital, Karachi Pakistan
Malik Nadeem Azam Department of Internal Medicine, Combined Military Hospital, Khairan/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Ahmar Rasheed Department of Internal Medicine, Combined Military Hospital, Bahawalpur/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Asad Ali Department of Internal Medicine, Combined Military Hospital, Sibbi/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Anam Manzoor Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Combined Military Hospital, Skardu/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51253/pafmj.v74i5.9441

Keywords:

Community health, Hemoglobin, Iron deficiency anemia, Reproductive medicine.

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine the frequency of iron deficiency anemia among women in Skardu, Gligit-Baltistan.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital, Skardu, Pakistan, from Dec 2021 to May 2022.

Methodology: A total of 202 women were selected through consecutive sampling from General Medical OPD of Combined Military Hospital, Skardu, Pakistan. Hemoglobin globin levels (Hb gram/deciliter), mean corpuscular volume (MCV fL) and red cell distribution width (RDW%) were determined for all enrolled patients.

Results: Mean age of participants in this study was 34.46±10.93 years. Reduced Hb was observed in 62(30.69%) women with a mean hemoglobin level of 9.48±1.59 gl/deciliter and mean corpuscular volume of 79.97±10.7d fL. Among these women, 5(2.47%) were severely anemic (6.56±0.39 gl/deciliter), 28(13.86%) moderately anemic (8.51±0.83 gl/deciliter) while 29(14.35%) were mildly anemic (10.92±0.48 gl/deciliter). Women of younger age group, between18-35 years, were found to suffer more from iron deficiency anemia (39.14%) with mean hemoglobin levels of 11.31±1.80 and mean corpuscular volume of 79.34±10.86 fL.

Conclusion: Iron Deficiency Anemia is present in female population of Gilgit-Baltistan in general and woman of childbearing age in particular. Emergency measures for awareness and fortification of basic food items with iron should be undertaken at large scale.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Qadir MA, Rashid N, Mengal MA, Hasni MS, Kakar SUD, Khan GM, et al. Iron-deficiency anemia in women of reproductive age in urban areas of Quetta District, Pakistan. Biomed Res Int 2022; 2022: 6677249.

https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/6677249

Anjum A, Ali TS, Pradhan NA, Khan M, Karmaliani R. Perceptions of stakeholders about the role of health system in suicide prevention in Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. BMC Public Health 2020; 20(1): 991.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09016-4

McLean E, Cogswell M, Egli I, Wojdyla D, Benoist B. Worldwide prevalence of anemia, WHO mineral nutrition information system, 1993-2005. Public Health Nutr 2009; 12: 444-454.

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980008002401

Nouri A, Matur A, Pennington Z. Prevalence of anemia and its relationship with neurological status in patients undergoing surgery for degenerative cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy: a retrospective study of 2 spine centers. J Clin Neurosci 2020; 72: 252-257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2020.01.041

Nasir BB, Fentie AM, Adisu MK. Adherence to iron and folic acid supplementation and prevalence of anemia among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia. PLoS One 2020; 15(5): e0232625.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232625

Mehrotra M, Yadav S, Deshpande A, Mehrotra H. A study of the prevalence of anemia and associated sociodemographic factors in pregnant women in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. J Family Med Prim Care 2018; 7(6): 1288-1293.

https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_297_18

Osungbade KO, Oladunjoye AO. Preventive treatments of iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy: a review of their effectiveness and implications for health system strengthening. J Pregnancy 2012; 2012: 454601.

https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/454601

Ministry of National Services Regulation and Coordination (MoNHSR&C)GoP. National Nutrition Survey; 2018.

Hambidge KM, Bann CM, McClure EM, Westcott JE, Garcés A, Figueroa L, et al. Maternal characteristics affect fetal growth response in the women first preconception nutrition trial. Nutrients 2019; 11(10): 2534.

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102534

Muckenthaler MU, Mairbäurl H, Gassmann M. Iron metabolism in high-altitude residents. J Appl Physiol. 2020; 129(4): 920-925.

https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00388.2020

Qadir MA, Rashid N, Mengal MA, Hasni MS, Kakar SUD, Khan GM, et al. Iron-deficiency anemia in women of reproductive age in urban areas of Quetta District, Pakistan. Biomed Res Int 2022; 2022: 6677249. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/6677249

Bharati P, Som S, Chakrabarty S, Bharati S, Pal M. Prevalence of anemia and its determinants among nonpregnant and pregnant women in India. Asia Pac J Public Health 2008; 20(4): 347-359.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539508316931

Retnakumar C, Chacko M, Ramakrishnan D, George LS, Krishnapillai V. Prevalence of anemia and its association with dietary pattern among elderly population of urban slums in Kochi. J Family Med Prim Care 2020; 9(3): 1533-1537.

https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1056_19

Arabyat R, Arabyat G, Al Taani G. Prevalence and risk factors of anaemia among ever-married women in Jordan. East Mediterr Health J 2019; 25(8): 543-552.

https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.19.009

Ganapathi KC, Kumar KR. A cross-sectional study of anemia among women of reproductive age group (15-49 years) in a rural population of Tamil Nadu. Int J Med Sci Public Health 2017; 6(3): 524-530.

https://doi.org/10.5455/ijmsph.2017.0207727022017

Chandyo RK, Strand TA, Ulvik RJ. Prevalence of iron deficiency and anemia among healthy women of reproductive age in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Eur J Clin Nutr 2007; 61(2): 262-269.

https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602506

Benoist BD, McLean E, Egli I, Cogswell M. Worldwide prevalence of anaemia 1993-2005, WHO Global Database on Anaemia, Geneva, Switzerland; 2008.

Zhang X, He Y, Xie X, Ji M, Ma X, Yu Z. Distribution of hemoglobin and prevalence of anemia in 10 ethnic minorities in China: a population-based, cross-sectional study. Medicine 2017; 96(5): e9286.

https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000009286

Lilare RR, Sahoo DP. Prevalence of anaemia and its epidemiological correlates among women of reproductive age group in an urban slum of Mumbai. Int J Community Med Public Health 2017; 4(8): 2841-2846.

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20173350

Verma R, Kharb M, Deswal S, Arora V, Kamboj R. Prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age group in a rural block of Northern India. Indian J Med Community Health 2014; 26(2): 359-364.

Abuaisha H, Itani H, El Masri R, Antoun J. Prevalence of iron deficiency without anemia in the general population presenting to primary care clinics: a cross-sectional study. Postgrad Med 2020; 132(3): 282-287.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00325481.2020.1718094

Ndegwa SK. Anemia and its associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Mbagathi County Hospital, Nairobi County, Kenya. Afr J Health Sci 2019; 32(1): 59-73.

Asres Y, Yemane T, Gedefaw L. Determinant factors of anemia among nonpregnant women of childbearing age in southwest Ethiopia: a community-based study. Int Sch Res Notices. 2014; 2014: 391580. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/391580