Post by colonial pikin on Mar 29, 2016 12:15:10 GMT
Iron deficiency as an emergency among Nigerians
By reckoning, iron deficiency anemia is a serious public health problem in nearly all developing countries and in subpopulations of industrialised countries as well. It is estimated that about two million people are iron deficient, and that this deficiency is severe enough to cause anemia in over one million people globally. About 90 per cent of all anemias have an iron deficiency component. Roughly 47 per cent of non-pregnant women and 60 per cent of pregnant women have anemia worldwide, and including iron deficiency without anemia the figures may approach 60 and 90 per cents respectively.
Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN) has blamed iron deficiency for high prevalence of anemia among Nigerian women of reproductive age. The society hinted that the country faces one of the largest burdens of micronutrient deficiencies in the world, with anemia and its health impact the most common. Specifically, 49 per cent of women of reproductive age have anemia, 24.3 per cent have low iron stores and 12.7 per cent of them are iron deficient.
Iron deficiency anemia is a condition in which the red blood cells or their oxygen-carrying capacity is insufficient to meet physiological needs of the body. Iron deficiency when sufficiently severe, causes anemia. Severe anemia is also life threatening. Speaking on a premilinary survey findings commissioned by Unilever Nigeria focusing on iron deficiency anemia among women in Nigeria, Dr Folake Samuel, Senior Lecturer, Department of Human Nutrition, University of Ibadan, noted that the findings shows that although many Nigerian women are aware that we have rich iron sources of food in our environment and its benefits as well as the consequences of iron deficiencies, and a lot of them consume iron rich food, but however the consumption of iron rich food is still low and this calls for action and intervention.
Pregnant women, teenage girls and women of reproductive age are among the most vulnerable to iron deficiency anemia because of high iron requirements. Increasing iron intake during adolescence to prepare for pregnancy is crucial to decreasing the risk of iron deficiency anemia and negative birth outcomes.
The key factors responsible for iron deficiency includes: dietary (low bioavailability of iron in the diet, insufficient quantity of dietary iron relative to enhanced needs during specific life phases such as infancy, adolescence, and pregnancy), life cycle (repeated pregnancies, bleeding associated with use of intrauterine devices (IUDs) for birth control and excessive menstrual bleeding.) and disease states (hookworm, schistosomiasis, causing chronic blood loss, processes that impair iron absorption and utilisation, mal-absorption syndromes and rare genetic conditions).The signs and symptoms of iron deficiency and anaemic condition includes, brittle nails, swelling or soreness of the tongue, cracks in the sides of the mouth, an enlarged spleen, fatigue, craving for nonfood items(such as ice, paint, starch), dizziness, weakness, drowsiness, restless legs syndrome (RLS), coldness hands and feet, shortages of breath. Some signs and symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia are related to the condition’s causes. In infants and young children, signs of anemia include poor appetite, slowed growth and development, and behavioral problems and all these militate against active living and human productivity as iron is critical to learning process and energy for day to day activities.
There have been numerous articles indicating the consequences of iron deficiency anaemia which are harmful to development and health throughout the life cycle. Generally, iron deficiency affects all persons by impairing cognitive performance at all stages of life, morbidity from infectious diseases is increased and physical work capacity is significantly reduced. Infants born of mothers with iron deficiency anaemia are more likely to have low iron stores and also there is convincing evidence linking iron deficiency anaemia to lower cognitive test scores. In Pregnant women, the risk of complications during birth is high. Also, Iron deficient anemic women have shorter pregnancies than non-anemic, or even anemic but not iron deficient pregnant women, the more severe the anemia the greater the risk of low-birth weight.
One of the strategies to prevent iron deficiency anaemia is dietary improvement which involves consumption of iron-rich foods such as meat and organs from cattle, fowl, fish, and poultry; and non-animal foods such as legumes and green leafy vegetables. Similarly, focus should be upon foods which enhance the absorption or utilisation of iron.
Another strategy is the primary prevention of iron deficiency during pregnancy which includes adequate dietary iron intake and iron supplementation. In an effort to improve the effectiveness of anemia prevention and control, World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) prepared guidelines for iron supplementation for pregnant women.