PREVALENCE AND SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC DETERMINANTS OF ANAEMIA AMONG SCHOOL-GOING ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN URBAN INDIA
Main Article Content
Keywords
Anaemia, Adolescent girls, Prevalence, Socio-demographic factors, Iron deficiency, Urban India, Parental education, Socio-economic status.
Abstract
Background: Anaemia among adolescent girls is a widespread public health issue, especially in developing countries like India. This study aims to assess the prevalence of anaemia and explore socio-demographic determinants among school-going adolescent girls in an urban setting.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban area, including 350 adolescent girls aged 10-16 years from a government school. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire to gather socio-demographic information. Haemoglobin levels were measured using a Sahli’s haemoglobinometer and anaemia was classified according to WHO criteria. Chi-square tests were used to analyze association between socio-demographic factors and anaemia prevalence.
Results: The study found that 51.4% of the participants had mild to moderate anaemia, with the highest prevalence in the 14-15 years age group (37.7%). Parental education and socio-economic status were significantly associated with anaemia prevalence (p<0.001). Girls with illiterate fathers and mothers and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds had higher rates of anaemia. No significant associations were found between family type and dietary habits with anaemia.
Conclusion: The study highlights the high prevalence of anaemia among adolescent girls in urban India, emphasizing the role of parental education and socio-economic status in determining anaemia risk. Interventions focused on improving nutrition and raising awareness among parents about the importance of education and healthcare are essential to combat anaemia in this population.
References
2. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and ICF. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), India, 2019-2020. Mumbai: IIPS; 2020.
3. Lozoff B, Beard J, Connor J, et al. Iron deficiency and cognitive achievement in school-aged children. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;84(3):649-655. doi:10.1093/ajcn/84.3.649.
4. Gupta N, Pandey S, Tripathi V, et al. Socio-demographic factors affecting the prevalence of anaemia among adolescent girls in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2020;9(4):1717-1723. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_375_19.
5. Yadav R, Yadav S. Socioeconomic factors influencing anaemia in adolescent girls: A study from rural Haryana, India. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;4(9):3071-3076. doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20173951.
6. Borkotoky S, Dutta P, Shamsher S, et al. Prevalence of anaemia among adolescent girls of an urban area in Assam, India. Indian J Community Med. 2019;44(2):137-141. doi:10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_218_18.
7. Dahiya S, Kaur T. Impact of iron deficiency anaemia on the academic performance of adolescents. J School Health. 2017;87(3):232-238. doi:10.1111/josh.12495.
8. Rao S, Udaya S, Krishna L, et al. Maternal anaemia and its effect on infant birth weight and maternal health: A cross-sectional study in rural India. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2019;8(12):4637-4641. doi:10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20194933.
9. Sood S, Sharma S, Garg A. Prevalence of anaemia among adolescent girls in urban slums of Delhi, India. J Public Health. 2020;42(2): 235-240. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdz132.
10. Patil S, Mehta V, Dighe S, et al. Parental education and childhood anaemia: a critical factor in urban settings. Nutritional Health. 2018;21(3):153-160. doi:10.1177/2047487317750769.
11. Gupta N, Pandey S, Tripathi V, et al. Socio-economic factors affecting the prevalence of anaemia among adolescent girls in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2020;9(4):1717-1723. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_375_19.
12. Kumar S, Mishra A, Sharma M, et al. The influence of family structure on the nutritional status of adolescents in rural India. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2017;71(1):45-50. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2016.170.
13. Choudhary A, Saini R, Bansal M, et al. Vegetarian diets and iron deficiency anaemia in Indian adolescents. Asian J Nutr Diet. 2019;14(1): 15-18.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Dr.Neha Rathod
(Assistant Professor, Dept of Community Medicine Government Medical College, Akola)
Dr. Satish Chavan
(Assistant Professor, Dept of Pediatrics, Government Medical College, Akola)
Dr. Sagar Phate
(Associate Professor, Dept of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Buldhana)
Dr. Ganesh Bhatkar
(Assistant Professor, Dept of Neonatology, Government Medical College, Akola and Superspeciality Hospital)