Assessment By Dietary Intake And Haemogram Of Iron Levels Of Vegetarians In A Selected Community In Accra, Ghana

ABSTRACT

Background: Anaemia is a condition where the number of red blood cell (RBC) is reduced below the recommended value. It is diagnosed when a blood test shows haemoglobin concentrations below established levels. Iron deficiency anaemia is the most common type of anaemia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 30% of the people in the world have anaemia due to prolonged iron deficiency. A good source of iron (haem iron) is meat and non-haem iron from plant sources. However, the haem iron is readily absorbed compared to the non-haem iron. Vegans and vegetarians who do not replace meat with other iron rich foods are at high risk of suffering from iron deficiency anaemia.

Objective: The objectives of this study was to assess the dietary intake and full blood count levels of vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Methods: The study groups included 50 vegetarians, and 50 non-vegetarians between the ages of 25 years and 70 years. Both groups were made up of 19 females and 31 males. The study design used was a case control study design. A purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the participants. Venous blood was taken from participants to perform full blood count (FBC) test to determine those who were anaemic (low Hbs < 13.0g/dl for males and < 11.5 g/dl for females). A thin film comment was performed on cases with hemoglobin levels < 13.0g/dl and < 11.5 g/dl for males and females respectively, to determine the type of anaemia. Diet history and anthropometric measurements were also taken to determine the effect of vegetarian diet on body mass index (BMI) and visceral fat.

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Results: The mean BMI of the vegetarians (25.19 kg/m2) was significantly lower (p=0.013) than the mean BMI of the non-vegetarians (27.73 kg/m2).

Vegetarians had significantly lower energy (p=0.030), protein (p= 0.001), total fat (p=0.030), cholesterol (p=0.001) and vitamin B12 (p=0.001) intakes than non-vegetarians. The Hb levels of participants showed that 24% of vegetarians and 26% of non-vegetarians were anaemic. The mean MCV, MCH, MCHC and RDW were all within normal limits for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The blood thin film of anaemic cases did not show marked microcytic and hypochromic RBCs. No significant association was found between dietary iron and Hb levels (p=0.071).

Conclusion: The prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia among vegetarians in Accra is low. Vegetarians had low intakes of protein, total fat, cholesterol, folate and vitamin B12.

Further research is needed to determine the relationship between diet and iron deficiency in a larger study.