Adult male workers on a rubber plantation in West Java were studied to determine (1) whether anemia in low income workers affected physical endurance, their actual productivity, and their resistance ...to infection, and (2) whether iron supplementation could diminish iron deficiency anemia and raise work output in this population. Treatment with 100 mg of elemental iron for 60 days resulted in a significant improvement in hematological status of anemic individuals and in their Harvard Step Test Performance, work output, and morbidity. The cost of the iron supplementation was small compared with the economic benefits of increased productivity and lowered morbidity.
Approximately 88% of adult male workers on a rubber plantation in West Java, Indonesia had hookworm infection, and over 45% were anemic as judged by a hemoglobin below 13 g/100 ml. Hemoglobin values ...and Harvard Step Test (HST) performance for both tappers and weeders were significantly correlated. The rubber tappers were paid by their work output, and their earnings correlated with hemoglobin levels. Morbidity and hemoglobin levels were also correlated. Caloric intakes were not correlated with either work output or HST performance. Treatment with 100 mg of elemental iron for 60 days resulted in a significant improvement in hematological status of the anemic individuals and in their HST performance, work output, and morbidity. Both treatment and placebo groups received a daily incentive payment of 15 rupiahs, equivalent to 5 to 7% of minimum daily wages. This sum, spent largely on food, resulted in added intakes of 3 to 5 mg of available iron and 50 mg of vitamin C. This is believed to explain a significant but lesser improvement in hemoglobin, HST performance, work output, and morbidity in the anemic placebo group. In an untreated subsample to whom no payment was given, no change in hemoglobin, hematocrit, work performance, HST score, or disease morbidity occurred. After income supplementation was stopped, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels and related changes reverted to initial levels within 30 days in the placebo groups, but were unchanged in the iron-treated groups. The cost of the iron supplementation was small compared with the economic benefits of increased productivity and lowered morbidity.
Although coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death among females (Fs), previous studies have indicated that physicians tend to follow a less aggressive diagnostic & therapeutic approach ...with F patients, a pattern perhaps attributable to the fact that anginal symptoms in Fs are less likely to be followed by serious cardiovascular events. Hypothesizing that this sex-related difference in patient care will disappear if physicians possess adequate knowledge of coronary risk factors, 2,331 patients who had experienced acute myocardial infarction within the past 3-16 days were studied via scale & questionnaire data. It was found that with similar medical histories, Fs experienced coronary heart disease symptoms as frequently as males (Ms), & reported greater disability as a result of their symptoms; nevertheless, Fs were less likely to undergo cardiac catheterization or coronary bypass surgery. 6 Tables, 22 References. Adapted from the source document.
