Define Prevention of Iron Deficiency?
Iron deficiency anaemia accounts for approximately one-half or more of all the anaemia's seen worldwide. Iron deficiency without anaemia affects a large segment of the populations, as many as with anaemia. Thus, 70% or more of the pre-school children, 90% or more of pregnant women and adolescent girls suffer from either iron deficiency or iron deficiency anaemia in India. The serious functional effects of iron deficiency anaemia on learning, cognition and physical performance in children and productivity in adults, as well as, increased maternal 'and pre-natal mortality in pregnant women make it imperative to prevent and or treat iron deficiency as a priority.
There is a major National programme, the National Nutritional Anaemia Control Programme that aims to prevent and treat anaemia in pregnant women using a public health approach. Iron (100 mg elemental iron) and folic acid (0.5 mg) in the form of tablets are provided to all pregnant women for 100 days during a pregnancy through the ICDS. Severely anaemic women are given two tablets a day for 100 days as a treatment. Medicinal iron in a suitable form proves useful in treating iron deficiency at individual levels. Long-term prevention of iron deficiency must depend on improving the bio- availability of iron and increasing the iron content of the diets. Studies have shown that consumption of fruits rich in ascorbic acid such as guavas with major meals can improve haemoglobin levels. Drinking tea with meals should be avoided. At least a gap of 95-2 hours is needed between a meal and tea for better iron absorption. While the deficiency of iron is a common health problem; it is important to consider the causes of this problem. Nutritional iron deficiency implies that the diet cannot supply enough iron to coves the body's physiological requirements for this mineral. Worldwide, this is the most common cause of iron deficiency. In many tropical countries, infestations with hookworms lead to intestinal blood losses that in some individuals can be considerable. Besides deficiency conditions, there call be situations (though rare) when there is excessive accumulation of iron in the body. Let us next discuss the consequences of iron toxicity.