Anemia is estimated to affect up to 1.62 billion people in the world. Half of this population is affected by iron deficiency anemia, while pernicious anemia accounts for 0.1% of the total population and 1.9% of people above 60 years of age (WHO, 2016). Iron deficiency anemia is prevalent in children under the age of five years, women in the childbearing stage, and pregnant women (WHO, 2016). For this reason, anemia is a major cause of infant and maternal deaths across the world. Pernicious anemia on the other hand majorly affects persons above the age of thirty and is most common in people aged between sixty and seventy years (Elamami et al., 2018).
Iron deficiency anemia can be caused by loss of blood, especially in women in childbearing age and pregnant women. Iron deficiency can also be as a result of loss of blood caused by genetic defects such as hemophilia or even loss of blood through body cuts. In general, Iron deficiency anemia can be a result of low iron intake, severe blood loss and poor iron absorption in the body (Lopez, Cacoub, Macdougall & Peyrin-Biroulet, 2016). On the other hand, pernicious anemia occurs when there is reduced red blood cell production due to poor vitamin B12 absorption. Vitamin B12 relays on intrinsic factor in the stomach that protects the vitamin from deterioration by intestinal juices until it reaches the ileum where it is absorbed in the body. If the body fails to produce intrinsic juices in the correct amount, there will be poor absorption of vitamin B12 hence low rate of red blood cell production leading to development of pernicious anemia.
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In conclusion, individuals whose families have a history of genetic disorders such as hemophilia are at a higher risk of suffering from iron-deficiency anemia caused by blood loss. Eating behaviors and ethnicity determine what and how much people eat hence affecting the amount of iron and vitamin B12 that is absorbed into the body. Low intakes of foods containing iron and vitamin could result in iron deficiency and pernicious anemia.
References
Elamami, A. H., Elmehdwi, N., Younis, E. Z., Zwawi, H., Elsahli, R., Latiwesh, O. B., & Hussain, A. (2018). Pernicious Anemia Presented with Isolated Nominal Dysphasia in Type Ill Polyglandular Failure Female Patient. Cureus, 10(9).
Lopez, A., Cacoub, P., Macdougall, I. C., & Peyrin-Biroulet, L. (2016). Iron deficiency anemia. The Lancet, 387(10021), 907-916.
Thakur, N., Chandra, J., Pemde, H., & Singh, V. (2014). Anemia in severe acute malnutrition. Nutrition, 30(4), 440-442.
