Bhutanese Health issue
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Gary Shostak
Mar 25, 2011, 12:13:18 PM3/25/11
to Aaron Rome, bhutaneser...@googlegroups.com, Doug Hall
Please forward this to all folks you may know who can f/u on this concern.
Thanks,
Gary
Mani,
FYI From Physician Watch daily newsletter
Vitamin B12 Deficiency Common Among Bhutanese Refugees in U.S.
Refugees from Bhutan are commonly deficient in vitamin B12 when they arrive in the United States, according to CDC data published in MMWR. Some 30,000 Bhutanese refugees have resettled in the U.S. since 2008.
Postarrival medical screenings found that roughly 30% of refugees from Bhutan were deficient in vitamin B12, mainly from a diet lacking in meat, eggs, and dairy in refugee camps in Nepal. CDC researchers say that Helicobacter pylori-associated chronic gastritis might also be a factor. A review of medical records from a St. Paul, Minn., health clinic found that of those with B12 deficiency, roughly 20% had macrocytosis and 10% had peripheral neuropathy.
The CDC recommends that clinicians give all Bhutanese refugees nutrition advice and supplemental B12 after their arrival in the U.S. Those found to be deficient in B12 should be screened for underlying causes, treated with parenteral or high-dose oral B12, and followed-up for response to therapy.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6011a4.htm?s_cid=mm6011a4_x
FYI From Physician Watch daily newsletter
Vitamin B12 Deficiency Common Among Bhutanese Refugees in U.S.
Refugees from Bhutan are commonly deficient in vitamin B12 when they arrive in the United States, according to CDC data published in MMWR. Some 30,000 Bhutanese refugees have resettled in the U.S. since 2008.
Postarrival medical screenings found that roughly 30% of refugees from Bhutan were deficient in vitamin B12, mainly from a diet lacking in meat, eggs, and dairy in refugee camps in Nepal. CDC researchers say that Helicobacter pylori-associated chronic gastritis might also be a factor. A review of medical records from a St. Paul, Minn., health clinic found that of those with B12 deficiency, roughly 20% had macrocytosis and 10% had peripheral neuropathy.
The CDC recommends that clinicians give all Bhutanese refugees nutrition advice and supplemental B12 after their arrival in the U.S. Those found to be deficient in B12 should be screened for underlying causes, treated with parenteral or high-dose oral B12, and followed-up for response to therapy.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6011a4.htm?s_cid=mm6011a4_x
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