ANAEMIA IN MEN - HEALTH
News: Is
anaemia seen in three in 10 rural men due to iron deficiency?
What's in the news?
● While
anaemia among adolescent girls and boys, and women, particularly those of
reproductive age has been studied extensively, anaemia in men has been largely ignored.
● In
2019, a paper published in 'The Lancet
Global Health' highlighted that nearly
one in four men (23.2%) in the age group 15-54 years in India were anaemic
(mild, moderate, or severe).
● The
conclusion was based on the analysis of over 1,06,000 men from the fourth round
of the National Family Health Survey carried out from January 2015 to December
2016.
Key takeaways:
● Men
are considered to have anaemia if haemoglobin
concentration is less than 13.0 g/dL.
● While
iron deficiency is the main cause of anaemia, particularly in women, other
causes of anaemia are deficiency in folate, vitamin B12, or vitamin A.
Anaemia:
● The condition of having
lower than normal number of red blood cells or quantity of haemoglobin.
● It
can make one feel tired, cold, dizzy, and irritable and short of breath, among
other symptoms.
● A
diet which does not contain enough iron, folic acid or vitamin B12 is a common
cause of anaemia.
Why anaemia is a concern?
● Adverse
effects of anaemia affect all age groups
lower physical and cognitive growth and alertness among children and
adolescents, and lesser capacity to learn and play, directly impacting their
future potential as productive citizens.
● Anaemia
among adolescent girls (59.1 percent) advances to maternal anaemiaand is a
major cause of maternal and infant mortality and general morbidity and ill
health in a community.
Trends of anaemia in Men:
A
recent analysis of the fifth National
Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) has shed light on anaemia among men living in
rural areas. The findings of the report are as follows.
● The
report found that three out of ten men in rural areas were anaemic.
● The prevalence of anaemia
was more in rural areas than in urban areas - one of five urban men are
anaemic, while three out of every ten rural men are anaemic.
● Prevalence
of anaemia was found to be higher
(34.7%) among men who were underweight compared with men who were
overweight (19.3%).
● Men
who consumed alcohol and smoked had “slightly higher” occurrences of anaemia,
and older men were found to be more vulnerable.
● Men
in the southern States had lower anaemia prevalence (18.5%), while prevalence
was highest in the eastern region (34.1%). Anaemia prevalence was 27.2% in the
north region, 28.9% in west, 26.9% in northwest and 25% in the central region.
Cause of anaemia among men in India:
1. Illiteracy:
● Men
with less education and those living in rural areas are more likely to have
anaemia.
2. Poverty:
● Less
household wealth lead to unavailability of proper nutritional diets and lead to
anaemia.
3. Neglect:
● Men
are branded as rough and tough in society. Health of men is often ignored and
neglected especially in rural areas.
4. Other factors:
● Factors
such as consuming smokeless tobacco, being underweight, level of urbanisation
and household wealth are associated with a higher probability of developing the
disease.
Impacts of Anaemia among Men:
● It
can decrease productivity by causing
fatigue, creating difficulty in concentrating, and lethargy.
● Although
male anaemia does not affect the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition but it
may reduce overall work performance and
quality of life.
● It
also lead to lack of harmony in family
as men are irritated most of the time and show their anger on family.
● It
put life of men in danger as fatigue may lead to unintended consequences like falling on working site from rooftop.
Preventive Measures:
● The
distribution of iron tablets and food
fortification with iron.
○ Iron
fortification of food is a methodology utilized worldwide to address iron
deficiency. Iron fortification programs usually involve mandatory, centralized
mass fortification of staple foods, such as wheat flour.
● Higher awareness
about anaemia and various nutritional deficiencies.
● Health
of men should not be ignored. Focus must be on erving issues like hidden hunger.
● Men
must be taught about bad effects of smoking that lead to less hunger and lead
to other diseases.
● Anemia Mukt Bharat:
In 2018, the Govt launched Anemia Mukt Bharat for tackling anaemia. It focuses
on children, pregnant women, women of reproductive age and male and female
adolescents.
The
existing anaemia control measures in the country are majorly focussed on women
and children. The inclusion of the males
in the target population will help to eliminate anaemia completely from the
country. In 2018, the government of India launched Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) as
part of the Intensified National Iron
Plus Initiative (NIPI) Program for accelerating the annual rate of decline
of anaemia from one to three percentage points.