Nayyar Yaqoob, Shahid Mumtaz Abbasi.
Nutritional Iron Deficiency in our population.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;12(7):395-7.

Objective: To document the most common cause of anemia in a rural population. Design: Prospective, case series. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted from June, 1999 to June, 2001 at the department of Medicine, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, (Pakistan). Material and Methods: The subjects were mainly young adults, middle aged men and non-pregnant women presenting with symptoms and signs of anaemia. Main outcome of study were types of anaemia, prevalence and causes of iron deficiency anemia. Results: A total of 205 patients presented with findings consistent with the presence of anaemia. The predominant type of anemia was hypochromic microcytic in 93 (43.36%) cases, followed by hematological malignancies in 46 (22.43%) cases. Iron deficiency was noted in all 93 cases. The main cause of iron deficiency was nutritional deficiency in 86 (41.95%) patients. The mean ferritin levels in these iron deficient patients were 5.6 hg/ml. The mean age was 32 years. Conclusion: The iron deficiency is still the commonest cause of anemia. The main cause of high prevalence of iron deficiency is nutritional inadequacy owing to low socioeconomic conditions. Women bear the main brunt of iron deficiency. Iron deficiency can be overcome by directing the financial resources to the vulnerable segments of population and enhancing their access to iron-rich foods.

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