Prevalence of Anaemia and Problems during Menstruation among Adolescent Girls

Abstract

India has the world's highest prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among adolescent girls, with 60 to 70 percent of the adolescent girls being anemic. Adolescence is considered as a nutritionally critical period of life. Hence, the health of adolescent girls demands special attention. So the purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of anemia and collect information regarding obstetrical details and psychological problem during menstruation in school going adolescent girls of Gandhigram. School going adolescent girls in the age group of 12-15 years studying in Gandhigram, were selected for the study. Hemoglobin concentration of the blood was analyzed and categorized. Interview schedule was formulated to collect information regarding obstetrics detail and psychological problems during menstruation. Eighty nine percent of adolescent girls were anemic and 74 percent of them had problem during menstruation and most of the girls had psychological problem during menstruation. The study concludes that a high prevalence of anemia was found among adolescent girls. There is a need to improve their hemoglobin status through dietary modification, dietary supplementation and nutrition education.