CDS (II) 2022 General Knowledge · Question 23 of 120

Correct — A, Anaemia. Iron is the metal at the centre of the haem group in haemoglobin, the pigment that carries oxygen in red blood cells. Without enough iron the marrow cannot fill new cells with haemoglobin, so it produces red cells that are small and pale, and the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity falls. The result is iron deficiency anaemia — tiredness, breathlessness on exertion, pallor of the palms, nail bed and inner eyelid, and reduced work capacity. It is the commonest nutritional deficiency in India, and it is why iron and folic acid supplementation and food fortification appear in almost every public health programme aimed at children, adolescent girls and pregnant women.

• (b)Scurvy — A vitamin C deficiency. Without ascorbic acid the body cannot make collagen properly, so the gums bleed and wounds fail to heal. Vitamin C does help absorb iron from food, but its absence causes scurvy, not anaemia.
• (c)Rickets — A vitamin D deficiency, sometimes with calcium. The bones of a growing child fail to mineralise and bend under weight, giving the bowed legs of the classic description. Iron has no role in it.
• (d)Cholera — Not a deficiency disease at all. Cholera is an infection caused by Vibrio cholerae in contaminated water, and it is treated with rehydration and antibiotics rather than with any nutrient.

An adult carries roughly three to four grams of iron, most of it inside haemoglobin. Each haemoglobin molecule holds four haem groups and each haem holds one iron atom, which is where oxygen binds. Iron in food comes in two forms: haem iron from meat, fish and poultry, which is absorbed easily, and non-haem iron from pulses, green leafy vegetables and fortified cereals, which is absorbed far less well. Vitamin C taken with a meal improves absorption of the second kind, while tea and coffee taken with it reduce absorption.

The option list mixes three deficiency diseases with one infection, and sorting them that way is the first move. Then match each remaining disease to its nutrient: scurvy to vitamin C, rickets to vitamin D, anaemia to iron. The pattern of these CDS questions is worth noting — a nutrient is named and four diseases offered, or a disease is named and four nutrients offered, and the same short table answers both. Present-day context is useful here: the National Family Health Survey rounds have repeatedly found anaemia widespread among Indian women and children, which is why the government runs the Anaemia Mukt Bharat strategy with iron and folic acid supplementation, deworming, and fortified rice in its welfare schemes.

• Iron is the metal at the centre of the haem group in haemoglobin, where oxygen binds.
• Iron deficiency produces small, pale red cells and reduces the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity.
• Haem iron from animal foods is absorbed more readily than non-haem iron from plant foods.
• Vitamin C improves absorption of non-haem iron; tea and coffee taken with a meal reduce it.
• Scurvy follows vitamin C deficiency, rickets follows vitamin D deficiency, and cholera is a waterborne bacterial infection.

• Assuming every disease in a nutrition question is a deficiency disease; cholera is an infection.
• Pairing scurvy or rickets with iron because all three appear together in the same table.
• Treating all anaemia as iron deficiency — vitamin B12, folate and inherited disorders cause it too.

As a nutrient-to-disease one-liner, as a matching list of deficiencies, or inside a question on a government nutrition programme.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Iron in the human body is mainly present in

  • (a)haemoglobin
  • (b)insulin
  • (c)thyroxine
  • (d)chlorophyll

  Answer(a) haemoglobin — thyroxine contains iodine, insulin is a protein hormone without a metal centre, and chlorophyll is a plant pigment built around magnesium.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following, taken along with a meal, improves the absorption of iron from plant foods?

  • (a)Tea
  • (b)Coffee
  • (c)Vitamin C
  • (d)Calcium supplement

  Answer(c) Vitamin C — ascorbic acid enhances absorption of non-haem iron, while tea and coffee reduce it.