Half of Indian women anaemic, 3/4 short on Vitamin D: Survey

Mumbai: A national survey ahead of the International Women’s Day underlined ill-health among India’s women, with anaemia affecting over half of the respondents while 72% had Vitamin D deficiency.

Abnormal levels of cholesterol and blood sugar were found in almost half of them, according to data of 1.3 crore tests carried out between January 2015 and December 2021 at SRL Laboratories across the country. The recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS) – 5 also showed that 66% of India’s women were anaemic as against 55% found in the NFHS-4.

“Women often tend to neglect their own nutrition and health needs and this is observed even in metro cities. Women bear the dual responsibility of being the primary caregivers at home in addition to their role in the professional sphere,” said the lab’s technical director Dr Abha Sabhikhi.