Prevalence of anaemia in elderly rural population of block Lakhanmajra, District Rohtak, Haryana, India

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Original Article

Author Details : Ved Pal, Ved Prakash Yadav, S C Mohapatra, V P Gupta

Volume : 3, Issue : 4, Year : 2016

Article Page : 185-189

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Abstract

Background: Anaemia is universal in the elderly and its prevalence increases with age. In our country an old person, in addition to the effects of aging, is often subjected to the problems of dependency, deprivation, disability, poverty, ignorance, loneliness and rejection of the family members etc. under  such circumstances, it is likely that anaemia, which is quite prevalent even in adulthood may further worsen in old age. Hence the study was conducted to find out the prevalence, types of anaemia and association of various factors with anaemia in elderly rural population.
Methods: The present study was conducted in Rural Community Development block Lakhan Majra having a population of approximately 98000, as sample study population. A house to house visit of the whole sample population (497 males and 503) was done to gather information on relevant factors on pretested semi-structured questionnaire and blood samples were taken for haemoglobin estimation by Sahli technique and the blood slides were prepared to find  out the type of anaemia.
Results: The prevalence of anemia was 90.4% (84.15 in males and 96.6% in females). Microscopic examination revealed that about 50 % of elderly showed the features of iron deficiency anemia. The most common type of anaemia was normochromic normocytic (41.3%) followed by microcytic hypochromic (19.8%), normocytic hypochromic (13.5%), dimorphic (7.1%). There was significant association of age, sex, living spouse, physical activity, consumption of curd/Lassi with level of haemoglobin. The relationship of caste distribution, literacy, family income, occupation, type of family, behavior, smoking ,alcoholism, drug intake, tea intake, chronic diarrhea, history of bleeding were studied and the observed difference amongst all were found to be insignificant.
Conclusions: Elderly population constitutes 7.2% of the total population and mostly (90.4%) were anaemic and the prevalence of severe anaemia was 4.8%. The microscopy examination revealed that about half of the elderly, iron deficiency was the main cause of anaemia. The study made a strong case of implementation of iron supplementation and dietary intervention for elderly.

Keywords: Elderly Population, Anaemia in Elderly, Nutritional Status in Elderly

How to cite : Pal V, Yadav V P, Mohapatra S C, Gupta V P, Prevalence of anaemia in elderly rural population of block Lakhanmajra, District Rohtak, Haryana, India. J Community Health Manag 2016;3(4):185-189

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