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Shooting shadows: India’s struggle to reduce the burden of anaemia

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/12076/
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/shooting-shadows-indias-struggle-to-reduce-the-burden-of-anaemia/C52C0209A5D8794E4C62B449DF5AB0CB
10.1017/S0007114522000927
 
Title Shooting shadows: India’s struggle to reduce the burden of anaemia
 
Creator Rai, R K
Kumar, S S
Gupta, S S
Parasannanavar, D J
Anish, T S N
Barik, A
Varshney, R K
Rajkumar, H
 
Subject Food and Nutrition
India
 
Description Despite several efforts by the Government of India, the national burden of anaemia remains high and its growing prevalence (between 2015–2016 and 2019–2021) is concerning to India’s public health system. This article reviews existing food-based and clinical strategies to mitigate the
anaemia burden and why they are premature and insufficient. In a context where multiple anaemia control programmes are in play, this article proposes a threefold strategy for consideration. First, except the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey, 2016–2018, which measured Hb concentration among children and adolescents aged 1–19 years using venous blood samples, all national surveys use capillary blood samples to determine Hb levels, which could be erroneous. The Indian government should prioritise conducting a nationwide survey for estimating the burden of anaemia and its clinical determinants for all age groups using venous blood samples. Second, without deciding the appropriate dose of Fe needed for an individual, food fortification programmes that are often compounded with layering of other micronutrients could be harmful and further research on this issue is needed. Same is true for the pharmacological intervention of Fe tablet or syrup supplementation programmes, which is given to individuals without assessing its need. In addition, there is a dire need for robust research to understand both the long-term benefit and side effects of Fe supplementation programmes. Third and final, the WHO is in process of reviewing the Hb threshold
for defining anaemia, therefore the introduction of new anaemia control programmes should be restrained.
 
Publisher CAB International Publishing
 
Date 2022-04-06
 
Type Article
NonPeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights cc_attribution
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/12076/1/British%20Journal%20of%20Nutrition_129_416%E2%80%93427_2023.pdf
Rai, R K and Kumar, S S and Gupta, S S and Parasannanavar, D J and Anish, T S N and Barik, A and Varshney, R K and Rajkumar, H (2022) Shooting shadows: India’s struggle to reduce the burden of anaemia. British Journal of Nutrition, 129. pp. 416-427. ISSN 1475-2662