Can we Afford to Ignore the Ubiquitous Health Problem for Indians - Iron Deficiency Anemia?

The persistent high prevalence of anemia in the Indian population is likely to be a major health hazard. Since mild or moderate anemia is often undetected or uncared for, it results in an imperceptible or unrecognized poor quality of life. It increases the risk to health and to life in many cases. This short review is meant to highlight the unsuspected prevalence, and unperceived effects of anemia in the life of millions of Indians. The national health programs cannot succeed to the desired extent unless healthcare providers understand the nature of anemia and the role of iron supplements. This write up is meant to implore all the healthcare givers and the society at large to relook into the health of the community after relinquishing the lower standards of hemoglobin, and to highlight the importance of being watchful for anemia as an associated or primary cause of illness, a multifactorial malady and to start investigating and treating it with due zeal that the Indian population deserves. We hope that with renewed enthusiasm for detection and management of anemia, the health and performance indicators of India will show a respectable increase. The health of a nation is its wealth!