Trends in the prevalence of anaemia in Japanese adult women, 1989–2003

Abstract

Objective: There is an increasing concern of anaemia in Japanese women, but no national trend data has existed to date. We analysed long-term national trends of anaemia in adult women. Design: Secondary analyses of 15 consecutive cross-sectional nationwide surveys conducted during the period 1989-2003. Analyses were based on 5-year intervals (1989-1993, 1994-1998, 1999-2003). Setting: Japan. Subjects: The subjects included the National Health and Nutrition Survey of Japan (NHNS-J) population. Analyses were based on 50 967 non-pregnant/non-lactating women aged 20 years and over, with complete data sets. We stratified subjects into six age groups (20-29 years, 30-39 years, 40-49 years, 50-59 years, 60-69 years and 701 years), and three age groups (20-49 years, 50-69 years, 701 years) for analyses on residential areas (metropolitan, cities and towns). Results: Decreases in trends of mean haemoglobin values (intravenous) were significant in all age groups. Changes in the prevalence of anaemia were significant only in women aged 30-39 and 40-49 years. Anaemia (haemoglobin , 12.0 g dl 21 ) increased from 16.8% to 20.6% in women aged 30-39 years, and from 20.2% to 26.9% in women aged 40-49 years, respectively. Prevalence was highest in women aged 70 years and older in all times, but no significant change was observed. Conclusions: Haemoglobin values have declined significantly in all ages in the last 15 years. Anaemia was especially significant in women aged 30-39 years and 40-49 years. Our findings suggest that a large number of young women in Japan are at risk of anaemia, so continuous monitoring and controlling efforts of this trend are needed.

Improved Prevalence of Anemia and Nutritional Status among Japanese Elderly Participants in the National Health and Nutritional Survey Japan, 2003-2009

“…To our knowledge, this study is the first nationally representative cross-sectional study to evaluate the trends in nutritional status of community-dwelling elderly people [6,7,11]. In the current study, similar prevalence of anemia was observed in men (19.3%) and women (21.7%) compared to other developed countries.…”

“…In this project, the government set goals to increase the proportion of elderly who are physically active, i.e., those with exercise habits. This health policy may have contributed to improving general health in the elderly, resulting in increase in subjects with exercise habits and decrease in anemia (Table 1), reversing previous trends [7]. Further monitoring of the health status of community dwelling elderly should be conducted, in order to investigate the effect of national health policies.…”

“…However, this study was not conducted in a nationally representative sample and limited the highest age category to ≤ 80 years. A previous study using the data on adult women in the National Health and Nutrition Survey of Japan (NHNS) from 1989-2003, showed that anemia was prevalent (25.3%-26.2%) among women aged 70 years and older [7]. Recently, studies have indicated anemia as one of the factors responsible for health decline among the elderly, such as increased risk in all-cause mortality [8][9][10][11], decline in cognitive function, dementia [12] and increased fracture risk [13].…”

The Incidence of Anemia in the Adult Working Population of Vojvodina

“…When the prevalence of low Hb values is more than 5% in the population, it is regarded as a public health problem (26). On the basis of Hb concentrations, the WHO established the following criteria for assessing the public health significance of anemia: if its prevalence in the general population is 5-19.9% -low; 20-39.9% -moderate; and ≥40% -severe (1,5,8). Due to the varying distribution of social and biological risk factors for anemia and the fact that it can lead to medical, social and economic consequences, epidemiological studies of anemia are becoming increasingly important (27,28).…”

“…Average age of anemic men was significantly higher compared with healthy men, as opposed to average age of anemic women, which was significantly lower than average age of healthy women (p<0.05). It has been shown that in men Hb levels decrease with age, while in women they increase after the menopause up to the age of 70, thereafter gradually decreasing (8,22,28,31). While some authors explain it with the decreased erythroid capacity of the bone marrow (31), others point out that anemia should not be considered a normal consequence of ageing (12,19,24).…”