Women’s Health Education On Anemia And Its Dangers

5060 words (20 pages) Essay in Health

Anemia is a common global public health problem (GPHP) affecting both developing and developed countries with major consequences for human health as well as social and economic development. It occurs at all stages of the life cycle but is more prevalent in pregnant women and young children in both rich and poor countries. In 2002, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was considered to be among the most important contributing factors to the global burden of disease (1).

Anemia is one of the most common factors complicating pregnancy worldwide specially in the development countries, and Palestine is one among of those countries .In Gaza strip ,an overall prevalence of anemia is more than 35% among pregnant women .most studies have demonstrated adverse effects of anemia to both pregnant women and their offspring’s mainly in developing countries due to several factors. The more etiologic factor for anemia among pregnancy being iron and folic acid deficiency (2-4)

Anemia is the result of a wide variety of causes that can be isolated, but more often coexist. Globally, the most significant contributor to the onset of anemia is iron deficiency so that IDA and anemia are often used synonymously, and the prevalence of anemia has often been used as a proxy for IDA. It is generally assumed that 50% of the cases of anemia are due to iron deficiency (5), but the proportion may vary among population groups and in different areas according to the local conditions. The main risk factors for IDA include a low intake of iron, poor absorption of iron from diets high in phytate or phenolic compounds, and period of life when iron requirements are especially high (i.e. growth and pregnancy).