A comparative study on prevalence of anaemia among urban and rural adolescent high school girls of Davangere, Karnataka

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is the formative period of life when the maximum amount of physical, psychological, and behavioural changes take place. During this stage the requirement of nutrition and micronutrients is relatively high. Therefore, adolescents, especially girls, particularly those between the ages of 12–15 years, are vulnerable to iron deficiency mainly because requirements are at a peak. This study was planned to highlight the problem of anaemia in adolescent females. The objectives were to study the prevalence and severity of anaemia among urban and rural adolescent high school girls and to compare the prevalence and severity of anaemia among urban and rural adolescent high school girls.Methods: A school based cross sectional study was done for a period of one year (December 1, 2014 to November 30, 2015) among 650 adolescent high school girls of Davangere city and field practice area of JJM Medical College, Davangere, Karnataka. Colour scale for haemoglobin was used for Hb estimation. Results: The overall prevalence of anaemia was 84.46%; prevalence was more in rural area (96.88%) than urban area (72.42%). The prevalence of mild, moderate and severe anaemia is 53.69%, 17.54% and 13.23%. Overall the severity of anaemia was highest among rural adolescent high school girls compared to that of urban adolescent high school girls. Conclusions: The prevalence of anemia was higher among rural girls compared to urban girls considering it to be a major health problem among the adolescents in rural areas.