Journal of - Nobel Medical College

ORIGINAL ARTICLEIron Deficiency Anaemia in Biratnagar, NepalPREVALENCE AND SIGNIFICANC OF IRON DEFICIENCYANAEMIA AMONG PEOPLE OF MORNAG DISTRICT OFNEPALSinha Amar Kumar, Majumdar Biswajit and Yadav Shrawan KumarAbstarct:Iron deficiency anaemia is one of the most dangerous and devastating causative form ofmalnutrition in developing countries, where special care should be taken from the healthcommunity to address the problem in South East Asian countries, 1.3-2.2 billion population isaffected according to world health organization. Fifty percent of women and children and 60%of gross anemic women of developing nations have been adversely affected till date. The mostcommon cause of iron deficiency anaemia is due to inadequate intake of iron in diet,physiologic demands of pregnancy and rapid growth and loss due to parasitic infections.Other prevalent causes of anaemia include malaria, chronic infections and nutritionaldeficiencies of vitamin A, folic acid and Vitamin b-12. The study reveals that 25.57 % ofpatients have been suffering from iron deficient anemia.Key Words: Iron, Anaemia, NepalIntroduction:Iron deficiency anaemia is one of the majorconcerns in health, mainly focusing thedeveloping countries like Nepal. TheWorld Health Organization identifies irondeficiency anaemia as the most commonanaemia 1 . Almost 2 billion people areaffected worldwide. In developingcountries, this high rate has been related toinsufficient iron intake, accompanied bychronic intestinal blood loss due toparasitic and malarial infections 4 . Irondeficiency anemia affects 3% childrenunder 2 years of age, up to 9-11 %adolescents female and less than 1% ofadolescent males 3 . Reduction of irondeficiency anaemia is an area, to be takencare of with utmost urgency.Iron deficiency anaemia leads to lostproductivity and premature death in adults24 . It is also associated with prenatalcomplications like low birth weight,premature delivery and associated healthproblems 5 , long-term effects includingIncreased susceptibility to infection andpoor growth, risk for developmental andbehavioral delays in children includinglower mental and motor test scores 24 .Some evidence suggests that severe irondeficiency anaemia may cause behaviorand learning problems, persistingthroughout childhood 2 .To address the problem, prevalence of irondeficiency anaemia was investigated inBiratnagar, Morang district, Nepal, takingsample data from 262 patients in both outpatients and inpatient department. Themain objective was to investigate irondeficiency anaemia by age and sex and toestablish the statistical correlation betweeniron, TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity),Ferritin and hemoglobin in Iron DeficiencyAnaemia.Materials and Methods:Measurement of Serum Iron Profile:Serum Iron Estimation:Journal of Nobel Medical College (2011), Vol. N.1 40