Fluorosis induced anemia in fluoride endemic zone of Bankura District, West Bengal, India

Fluorosis is a major public health problem in India. The present cross-sectional observational study has been conducted in the Hirbadh block, one of the fluoride endemic zones of Bankura district, West Bengal, India, on 77 subjects by using simple random sampling in which 41 were cases for evaluating the role of fluorosis in development of anemia. The blood and urine samples were collected from the cases and serum and urinary fluoride levels were estimated by Ion-Meter, blood hemoglobin levels were estimated by Sahli’s Hemoglobinometer and then were compared with age and sex matched controls. The serum and urinary fluoride were found to have statistically significant relationship with hemoglobin in the cases. The serum and urinary levels of fluoride were higher in the cases compared to the comparison group, while the hemoglobin levels were much less in cases than in controls. We found that 21.43% were suffering from mild anemia and 71.43% had moderate anemia of all female cases. While 29.63% had mild anemia and 62.96% had moderate anemia of total male cases.