Prevalence of Pernicious Anaemia among Voluntarily Consenting Healthy Adults - A Report from North-west India

Introduction: Pernicious anaemia is an autoimmune atrophic gastritis that causes a deficiency in vitamin B12 due to its malabsorption. Presence of intrinsic factor antibodies (AIFAb) is viewed as a diagnostic marker for pernicious anaemia. Materials and methods: This was an observational study carried out among healthy adults (students and employees) of in a medical college setting in north-west India. Results: By using reference range given by the manufacturer of the diagnostic kit, none of the participants enrolled for study was found to be positive for anti intrinsic factor antibodies (AIFAb) because all had serum level less than 25 EU/ml. Discussion: The study emphasises the need for further research in understanding the cause for vitamin b12 deficiency.

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