Anaemia in girls and women

A volunteer in a leading hospital in Chennai took a group of young women to a blood bank to donate blood for a patient undergoing major heart surgery. He was dismayed to find that all the women were anaemic and therefore not fit to donate blood. He could not believe that these young and healthy appearing women were actually anaemic. He was finding out the real facts: in India 50-70 per cent of women are anaemic. Iron-deficiency anaemia is the most common form of malnutrition in the world and is the eighth leading cause of disease in girls and women in developing countries like India.

What is anaemia?

Anaemia is a condition where the amount of red blood cells in the body is abnormally low. Red blood cells contain a pigment called haemoglobin which is what gives blood its colour. Haemoglobin transports oxygen around the body. When red blood cells, and consequently haemoglobin, are low, the body's tissues are not supplied with adequate amounts of oxygen. The lungs and heart work harder to get oxygen into the blood, leading to tiredness, breathlessness and palpitations. Women with a haemoglobin level of less than 11 gm/dL are considered to be anaemic.

Causes of anaemia

In women, the common causes of anaemia are related to heavy menstruation, pregnancy and poor dietary habits. Deficiency of iron or less commonly, vitamin B12 and folic acid, can cause anaemia. The less common causes are stomach ulcers, tumours, leukaemia and repeated attacks of malaria. Hookworm infestation can also cause blood loss leading to anaemia.

Iron deficiency anaemia

This is the most common type of anaemia, occurring in 50-70 per cent of girls and women in India. Adequate production of red blood cells requires iron, along with vitamins, and protein. Iron-rich foods include fruit, dark green vegetables, whole grain bread, beans, meat, eggs, and dairy products.

Women with heavy periods are at risk for iron deficiency anaemia because they lose excessive blood, month after month, during their periods.

Pregnancy too may lead to iron deficiency anaemia if adequate iron supplementation is not provided. If the woman starts her pregnancy with low iron stores in her body, the iron stores will be depleted further to meet the increased requirements for the mother as well as the growing foetus.