Anemia in the News

The prevalence of anemia among American women and children has declined significantly, according to a recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which was published in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.¹ Results from the report indicate that anemia in women declined from 10.8% to 6.9% and that anemia in children declined by more than half, from 8.0% to 3.6%. Folate deficiency in women also declined from 4.1% to 0.5%.

Although promising, the decline in anemia prevalence among these groups remains largely unexplained in this current report. Many causes associated with anemia, including iron deficiency, inflammation or high blood lead, showed little change in prevalence rates. The decline in folate deficiency in women accounted for little of the overall decline in anemia.

"We tried to assess what possible causes of anemia might have contributed to the decline," said lead author, Sarah Cusick, a micronutrient specialist with the CDC. "There are many different causes of anemia – some are nutritional, while others can be caused by inflammation. What we found was that none of those possible causes could account for the significant decline we saw in U.S. women and children. This was an unexplained decline."

The study also indicated that although anemia prevalence declined across ethnic groups, minority women were much more likely to be anemic than Caucasian women. Results showed 24.4% of African-American women and 8.7% of Hispanic women were anemic, compared to 3.3% of Caucasian women. These rates decreased from 29.3%, 13.4% and 6.7% respectively.

The study analyzed data collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) during the years 1988-1994 and 1999-2002. For more information about the study, view the original published article at PubMed or on the AJCN website.

References

1. Cusick SE, Mei Z, Freedman DS, Looker AC, Ogden CL, Gunter E, Cogswell ME. Unexplained decline in the prevalence of anemia among US children and women between 1988-1994 and 1999-2002. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Dec;88(6):1611-1617. Link.

Last Updated: December 11, 2008