Anemia amongst adolescent girls and boys attending outpatients and inpatient facilities in far western part of Nepal

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of anemia among adolescent males and females in the far western part of Nepal. Patients and Methods: A hospital-based study was carried out in Nepalgunj Medical College, Kohalpur, Banke, Nepal to determine prevalence and distribution of anemia in terms of age and gender among adolescents population. A total of 2027 adolescent (10-19 years old) females and males were included in the study from March 2011 to December 2012. Hemoglobin level was determined by the Cyanmethaemoglobin method. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Results: The overall prevalence of anemia was 52% for both males and females. 29.7% of the females and 22.4% of the males were anemic. The proportion of mild anemia was 67.5% (38.4% in females and 29.0% in males), moderate anemia was 20.0% (10.9% in females and 9.1% in males) and severe anemia was 12.5% (7.7% in females and 4.8% in males). Analyzing data within age groups revealed that the highest prevalence of anemia in general occurred in the 18-19 year old subjects affecting 292 (82 males and 210 females). Conclusions: Anemia in Nepalese adolescents is mostly mild, occurs more in late teenage years and it mainly affects females. Nutritional improvement and oral iron supplementation is needed for curing of anemia.