Abstract | BACKGROUND: Anaemia is a serious public health concern in India. However, national estimates for its prevalence are not available for the 5-14 years age group, nor are estimates available for the types of anaemia among children and adolescents (1-19 years). We aimed to assess the prevalence of anaemia among children and adolescents in India and to categorise types of anaemia on the basis of micronutrient deficiencies. METHODS: FINDINGS: We included 26 765 children (11 624 aged 1-4 years and 15 141 aged 5-9 years) and 14 669 adolescents. In the weighted sample, anaemia prevalence was 40·5% (4553 of 11 233) among 1-4 year-olds, 23·4% (3439 of 14 664) among 5-9 year-olds, and 28·4% (4064 of 14 300) among adolescents. Among 2862 children aged 1-4 years, iron deficiency anaemia (1045 [36·5%]) was the most prevalent type, followed by anaemia of other causes (702 [24·5%]), folate or vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia (542 [18·9%]), dimorphic anaemia (387 [13·5%]), and anaemia of inflammation (186 [6·5%]). Among 2261 children aged 5-9 years, anaemia of other causes was the most common (986 [43·6%]), followed by folate or vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia (558 [24·6%]), iron deficiency anaemia (353 [15·6%]), dimorphic anaemia (242 [10·7%]), and anaemia of inflammation (122 [5·4%]). 861 (31·4%) of 2740 adolescents had anaemia of other causes, 703 (25·6%) had folate or vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia, 584 (21·3%) had iron deficiency anaemia, 498 (18·2%) and dimorphic anaemia, and 94 (3·4%) had anaemia of inflammation. INTERPRETATION:
Iron deficiency anaemia is the most common form of anaemia among younger children and anaemia of other causes among 5-9-year-old children and adolescents. Folate or vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia accounts for more than a third of anaemia prevalence. Anaemia prevention efforts should focus on strengthening the existing iron and folate supplementation programmes and prevention of folate or vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia. FUNDING: The Mittal Foundation.
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Authors | Avina Sarna, Akash Porwal, Sowmya Ramesh, Praween K Agrawal, Rajib Acharya, Robert Johnston, Nizamuddin Khan, H P S Sachdev, K Madhavan Nair, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, Ransi Abraham, Sila Deb, Ajay Khera, Renu Saxena |
Journal | The Lancet. Child & adolescent health
(Lancet Child Adolesc Health)
Vol. 4
Issue 7
Pg. 515-525
(07 2020)
ISSN: 2352-4650 [Electronic] England |
PMID | 32562633
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Copyright | Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Topics |
- Adolescent
- Anemia
(epidemiology)
- Child
- Child, Preschool
- Female
- Folic Acid Deficiency
(epidemiology)
- Health Surveys
- Humans
- India
(epidemiology)
- Infant
- Male
- Prevalence
- Vitamin B 12 Deficiency
(epidemiology)
- Young Adult
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