In summary, nutritional anaemia is a condition that affects everyday life and is becoming a prominent issue for the paediatric population. Luckily, there are many preventions and treatments for those who have the resources to incorporate them into their life.
@gavin-knight.bsky.social🩸

Relating to treatment, anaemia is treated with supplements and an improved diet. However, it is important to note that socioeconomic and geographic factors have an impact on access to treatment and ability to improve diet and that solutions should be enacted to help the most vulnerable populations.

Fortunately, nutritional deficiencies can be prevented and treated. Preventions, like nutritional education📚 among both parents and children, are important to allow children to meet daily nutrient requirements. The fortification of foods like cereals🥣 is also a cheap/sustainable prevention method.

The WHO estimates anaemia affects 269 million children 6-59 months globally 🌍. Anaemias are most common in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia due to the factors above. This article, while not completely accurate, draws relevant conclusions regarding these factors' relationship to anaemia

Cultural, geographic and socioeconomic factors also play a role in the prevalence of paediatric anaemia. In low-income countries/areas maintaining a balanced diet is hard, access to healthcare is limited, and infectious disease is more common resulting in higher levels of nutritional anaemias.

-Malabsorption disorders or chronic diseases e.g. Crohn’s can also lead to nutritional anaemias.
-Maternal factors, like anaemia during pregnancy, increases the chance of iron deficiency in the child.
-Girls have higher rates of iron deficiency anaemia due to blood loss caused via menstruation🩸.

Now we know the basics lets delve into why children are so susceptible to nutritional anaemias:
-Typically children <5 can be extra vulnerable due to rapid growth and need for more iron.
-Poor diets are also common in children, especially those with limited resources, leading to lack in nutrition.

Iron is found in foods such as meats🥩, nuts🥜, and dried fruits (like dried peach🍑). Folate is found in leafy greens🥬 and fruits🍊. Unfortunately for any vegans, Vitamin B12 is only found in animal products like meats🍖 and eggs🥚. Luckily, fortified foods like cereals are an easy source of all these.

Now, nutritional anaemia is just anaemia caused by a lack of nutrients necessary for hemopoiesis (production of red blood cells🩸), with the most common form being iron deficiency anaemia. Lack of Vitamin B9 (Folate) and Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) are causes too as they are necessary for RBC maturation.