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Prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends in anaemia burden by severity and cause, 1990-2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Background
Anaemia is a major health problem worldwide. Global estimates of anaemia burden are crucial for developing appropriate interventions to meet current international targets for disease mitigation. We describe the prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends of anaemia and its underlying causes in 204 countries and territories.
Methods
We estimated population-level distributions of haemoglobin concentration by age and sex for each location from 1990 to 2021. We then calculated anaemia burden by severity and associated years lived with disability (YLDs). With data on prevalence of the causes of anaemia and associated cause-specific shifts in haemoglobin concentrations, we modelled the proportion of anaemia attributed to 37 underlying causes for all locations, years, and demographics in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.
Findings
In 2021, the global prevalence of anaemia across all ages was 24·3% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 23·9–24·7), corresponding to 1·92 billion (1·89–1·95) prevalent cases, compared with a prevalence of 28·2% (27·8–28·5) and 1·50 billion (1·48–1·52) prevalent cases in 1990. Large variations were observed in anaemia burden by age, sex, and geography, with children younger than 5 years, women, and countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia being particularly affected. Anaemia caused 52·0 million (35·1–75·1) YLDs in 2021, and the YLD rate due to anaemia declined with increasing Socio-demographic Index. The most common causes of anaemia YLDs in 2021 were dietary iron deficiency (cause-specific anaemia YLD rate per 100 000 population: 422·4 [95% UI 286·1–612·9]), haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias (89·0 [58·2–123·7]), and other neglected tropical diseases (36·3 [24·4–52·8]), collectively accounting for 84·7% (84·1–85·2) of anaemia YLDs.
Interpretation
Anaemia remains a substantial global health challenge, with persistent disparities according to age, sex, and geography. Estimates of cause-specific anaemia burden can be used to design locally relevant health interventions aimed at improving anaemia management and prevention.
Funding
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Soil fertility management practices by smallholder farmers in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province
Inadequate soil fertility is one of the most important constraints limiting food
production in Vhembe district, Limpopo province. A survey of 85 randomly sampled farmers was conducted using a standard questionnaire to identify (i) the practices that smallholder farmers use to maintain or improve soil fertility and (ii) the constraints associated with soil fertility management practices used by the farmers. An interview schedule was the main tool of data collection while descriptive statistics were the main analytical technique. Findings indicated that 46% of the farmers allowed for fallow periods, with the majority (97%) allowing for fallow period between 3 months to one year. Up to 79% of the farmers\' practised crop rotation and those who don\'t practise rotation gave reasons which included inadequate knowledge regarding the practice and shortage of land. Only 28% of the farmers practised intercropping, indicating inadequate knowledge about the practice. 76% of the farmers incorporated crop residues back into the soil. Erosion was identified by 57%
of the farmers as a problem. Among the measures used to control soil erosion are ploughing along contours (43%), maintaining vegetative cover on soil surface (19%),
using stone bunds (19%), planting trees in eroded areas (9.5%) and using cover crops
(9.5%). Keywords: Soil fertility, food production, management practices, smallholder farmers.South African Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol. 36 (1) 2007: pp. 53-6
Carbon sequestration in a large hydroelectric reservoir: An integrative seismic approach
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