Bengaluru's men should better watch out for anaemia

Bengaluru: City's men need to keep close tabs on their haemoglobin levels as a recent survey revealed that men with ‘severe anaemia’ far outnumber women.

The four-year-long survey revealed that 13 per cent men suffer from ‘severe anaemia’, while among women it was 3 per cent.

Of the 60,806 samples that were tested in Bengaluru for anemia, the abnormality percentage among women was 65.16 per cent, while 66.02 per cent men were found anaemic in the above fifteen years age group.

Dr Shankar Prasad, Medical Director, St Philomena's Hospital, said, "Anemia results due to a number of reasons, with most significant contributor being iron deficiency. The major symptoms of anaemia include fatigue, weakness, paleness and dizziness."

Experts stress on simple health goals to reduce risks of developing anaemia. "Monitoring your daily intake can greatly reduce your risk of developing an iron deficiency. A diet low in iron is the primary cause of most deficiencies,” he added.

Dr Deepa Dave, Director, SRL Labs, said, "In India, anaemia is more commonly seen in women than in men. There are around 400 types of anaemia, among which iron deficiency anaemia is the most common form in our country. It is necessary that anaemia should be treated timely, because it can not only cause non-specific illnesses like easy fatigability, increased incidence of infections, headache, dizziness, but can also become a cause of impaired fetal development during pregnancy, low birth weight baby and delayed cognitive development in children.”

She laid stress on consumption of iron-rich food to ensure that adequate elemental iron is ingested through dietary sources. “Also, there is the need for getting regular and periodic laboratory tests done to check haemoglobin levels," she added.