Evaluation of the Prevalence of Anemia in High School Going Adolescent Females in a Rural Area of South India

Abstract

Background: Anaemia is the major serious preventable public health problem in Indian rural adolescent females. WHO report of 2002 states anaemia as the most common factor in infant mortality, maternal mortality and pre-term births. Simple health intervention programmes such as vitamin A and Iron supplementation with deworming can decrease the occurrence of anaemia. The present study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of anaemia among adolescent females, to assess the severity of anaemia and to correlate the association of factors like diet, anthropometry, socioeconomic status and menstrual flow with anemia. Methodology: The cross sectional study included 100 high school-going adolescent females whose Hemoglobin was estimated by three part automated hematology analyzer KX 21. Detailed history was elicited regarding socioeconomic status and menstrual flow. Anthropometric measurements were noted. Results: The prevalence of anaemia among adolescent females in our study in a rural area was found to be 40%. Amongst them, 55% had mild anaemia, 35% moderate anaemia and 10% severe Anaemia. Conclusion: Prevalence of mild to moderate anaemia is higher than severe anaemia in adolescent females. This may be attributed to the impact of school based intervention programs which exist since 2009, vitamin A supplementation, iron supplementation, deworming and dietary education. Keywords: Nutritional, Anemia, Iron deficiency, Adolescence