Anemia
Anemia is a medical condition in which the red cells of the blood are reduced in number or volume or are deficient in hemoglobin, their oxygen-carrying pigment. Almost 100 different varieties of anemia are known. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia worldwide. Other causes of anemia include ionizing radiation, lead poisoning, vitamin B12 deficiency, folic acid deficiency, certain infections, and pesticide exposure. Some 350 million people worldwide—mostly women of child-bearing age—suffer from anemia.
The most noticeable symptom is pallor of the skin, mucous membranes, and nail beds. Symptoms of tissue oxygen deficiency include pulsating noises in the ear, dizziness, fainting, and shortness of breath. The treatment varies greatly depending on the cause and diagnosis, but may include supplying missing nutrients, removing toxic factors from the environment, improving the underlying disorder, or restoring blood volume with transfusion.
Aplastic anemia is a disease in which the bone marrow fails to produce an adequate number of blood cells. It is usually acquired by exposure to certain drugs, to toxins such as benzene, or to ionizing radiation. Aplastic anemia from radiation exposure is well-documented from the Chernobyl experience. Bone marrow changes typical of aplastic anemia can occur several years after the exposure to the offending agent has ceased.
Aplastic anemia can manifest itself abruptly and progress rapidly; more commonly it is insidious and chronic for several years. Symptoms include weakness and fatigue in the early stages, followed by headaches, shortness of breath, fever and a pounding heart. Usually a waxy pallor and hemorrhages occur in the mucous membranes and skin. Resistance to infection is lowered and becomes the major cause of death. While spontaneous recovery occurs occasionally, the treatment of choice for severe cases is bone marrow transplantation.
Marie Curie, who discovered the element radium and did early research into radioactivity, died in 1934 of aplastic anemia, most likely caused by her exposure to ionizing radiation.
While lead poisoning, which leads to anemia, is usually associated with occupational exposure, toxic amounts of lead can leach from imported ceramic dishes. Other environmental sources of lead exposure include old paint or paint dust, and drinking water pumped through lead pipes or lead-soldered pipes.
Cigarette smoke is known to cause an increase in the level of hemoglobin in smokers, which leads to an underestimation of anemia in smokers. Studies suggest that carbon monoxide (a by-product of smoking) chemically binds to hemoglobin, causing a significant elevation of hemoglobin values. Compensation values developed for smokers can now detect possible anemia.
Resources
Books
Harte, J., et. al. Toxics A to Z. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
Nordenberg, D., et al. "The Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Hemoglobin Levels and Anemia Screening." Journal of the American Medical Association (26 September 1990): 1556.
Stuart-Macadam, P., ed. Diet, Demography and Disease: Changing Perspectives on Anemia. Hawthrone: Aldine de Gruyter, 1992.
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