Anisa M Durrani*

Professor, Home Science, Aligarh Muslim University, India

*Corresponding Author: Anisa M Durrani, Professor, Foods and Nutrition, Aligarh Muslim University, India.

Received: January 29, 2018; Published: March 23, 2018

Citation: Anisa M Durrani. “Prevalence of Anemia in Adolescents: A Challenge to the Global Health”. Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 2.4 (2018).

Abstract

  Iron deficiency anemia is a major global health problem affecting more people than any other condition, constituting a public health challenge of epidemic proportion. Anemia with major consequences on health and well-being in women increases the risk of maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes. WHO estimated that 24.8% of the global population is affected with anemia. The highest prevalence of 47.4% is in preschool-age children and the lowest prevalence of 12.7% is in men [1]. However, the population group with the greatest number of individuals affected is non-pregnant women amounting to 468.4 million. WHO reported prevalence of anemia to be highest in South Asia and Central and West Africa. Although considerable reductions in the prevalence of anemia have been achieved through various policies and intervention programmes, to combat and reach the fifty percent reduction target more pragmatic efforts are needed [2]. In this review the prevalence of anemia across the globe, its causes, risk factors, and the intervention measures to combat anemia has been discussed.

Keywords: Anemia; Health; Prevalence; Adolescents; Pregnant Women

Copyright: © 2018 Anisa M Durrani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.