Prevalence and detecting spatial clustering of anaemia among children 6–59 months in the districts of India

Abstract

BackgroundAmong the developing countries, India was the largest contributor to child anaemia in the last decade. It has many harmful effects on children's lifestyle as it reduces learning capacity, attentiveness and intelligence. The study attempts to identify the spatial prevalence and detect the clustering of anaemia in India based on National Family Heath Survey-IV, 2015–16 and also tries to identify the determinants of anaemia among children (6–59 months). MethodsThe study uses spatial analysis software ArcGIS 10.8 and GeoDa1.18 including Moran's index. Logistic regression model is applied by using STATA-14, to assess the effects of socio-economic and demographic, maternal and child characteristic predictors of prevalence of anaemia among children. ResultsThe anaemia prevalence is highest in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and lowest in Meghalaya. A total of 321 districts are having more than the national level average (58.65 %) of anaemia. Study also finds 110 districts as the hot-spot areas (Moran's I = 0.63) mostly from central, western, south-western, northern and eastern parts of India. Increase of mother's age, education, receipt of full ANC and richer wealth quantile reduce the risk of childhood anaemia. On the other hand, underweight mothers, children in the age group 12–23 months, underweight children and higher birth order increase the risk of childhood anaemia. ConclusionThe study suggests targeting the hot-spot districts with a high prevalence of anaemia and policy-level interventions addressing micronutrient deficiency like the Integrated Child Development Scheme, to reduce the risk of childhood anaemia.