Abstract

Iron deficiency (ID) is the most common cause of nutritional anaemia in world and it is recognized as a major public health problem throughout the globe, especially in the developing countries. Infants, young children and pregnant women are most frequently affected by iron deficiency, which is the most commonly form of nutritional deficiency. The aim of present study was to determine iron deficiency anaemia among adult population of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan. A clear understanding of the risk factors in this population will help to plan for more effective strategies to control this nutritional deficiency. Among the selected anaemic patients, 72% were iron deficiency anaemic and 28% were non-iron deficiency anaemic. Iron deficiency anaemia was morecommon among females than males (82% patients were females and 18% were males).The risk factors were: pregnancy (57%), nutritional inadequacy (36%) and others (7%).

Key words: Abbottabad, anaemia, iron deficiency, risk factors.