Adolescent anaemia its prevalence and determinants: a cross-sectional study from south Kerala, India

Abstract

Background: Anaemia is currently one of the most common and intractable nutritional problems globally. During the period of adolescence, iron requirements increase dramatically in both boys and girls resulting in a higher probability of anaemia. The objective of the study was done to find out the prevalence of anaemia among adolescent boys and girls in Ambalapuzha Taluk and to assess the scholastic performance of the anaemic and non-anaemic in the study group. Methods: The setting was different schools of Ambalapuzha Taluk and the study was cross sectional in nature. Study subjects were children studying in 5th -10th standards selected from aided, unaided and government schools. The total sample size of the study was 2789 subjects. Statistical analysis: Data was entered in Microsoft excel and was analysed using SPSS 16.0 versionResults: The prevalence of anaemia in the whole population was 53.5% (C.I-51.64-55.34%). The anaemia prevalence in females was 62.0% (C.I -59.33-64.6) and in males was 46.1% (C.I -43.55-48.61). Out of the total population 0.4% were severely anaemic [male 0.3% (5) and female 0.5% (6)]. The prevalence of moderate anaemia was 3.4% [male 2.8% (41) and female 4.2% (54)] and that of mild anaemia was 49.7 [male 43% (640) and female 57.4% (746)]. The factors that were found to be significantly associated with adolescent anaemia were female gender (62% vs. 46.1%), being overweight (59.7% vs. 53.2), not taking WIFS regularly (56.5% vs. 51.8% and 28.6% among irregularly taking WIFS and regular takers) and children coming from families with monthly income less than INR 1000. Conclusions: On comparing the academic performance of anaemic and non-anaemic children it was found that the aggregate marks was significantly lower in the anaemic group (178.11 marks) compared to the non-anaemic group (217.63 marks) (p=0.001).

Dietary Practices, Nutrient Adequacy, and Nutrition Status among Adolescents in Boarding High Schools in the Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania

“…is was consistent with findings reported in Tanzanian suburban areas which indicated adolescent anaemia of 14.5% and 7.9% for female and male, respectively [90]. e prevalence in this study is lower than that reported in India (62% females and 46.0% males were anaemic) [69] and Saudia Arabia (34.2% females and 16.7% males were anaemic) [91]. Anaemia causes are multifactorial but mainly is due to iron deficiency [20,90].…”

“…Micronutrient adequacy during adolescence is essential not only to support adolescents' health status but also to the future health in adulthood [ 68 , 69 ]. The increased demand for micronutrients during adolescence is contributed by a growth spurt and hormonal changes [ 44 ].…”

Anemia and Its Determinants among Male and Female Adolescents in Southern Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

“…Regarding the overall prevalence, the result of this study revealed that the prevalence of anemia was comparable to the other studies in Ethiopia including those conducted in Wonago Town [ 24 ] and Bonga Town [ 25 ]. On the other hand, the overall prevalence is much lower than the study conducted in India (62.0% in females and 46.1% in males, respectively) [ 29 ] and Chennai, Tamil Nadu, among adolescent female students which found 78.8% [ 30 ]. The difference in the finding of our study from different regions of the world could be due to the difference in cultural and behavioural practices in different areas of the world.…”

“…Another finding of a study conducted among adolescents in Wonago District, Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia, found significantly higher prevalence of anemia among male adolescents (24.3%) than among female adolescents (18.1%) [ 24 ]. The finding from South Kerala in India also found that male adolescents were more anemic than female adolescents [ 29 ]. However, the finding of the study conducted in Bonga Town, Southwest Ethiopia, found that the prevalence of anemia among male adolescents was lower among males (9.4%) than females (19.3%) [ 25 ].…”

Intestinal parasitic infections and prevalence of anaemia among tribal school going children: a one year study

“…Similar findings and association was reported in the findings of Melwani et al, Soman et al who reported the prevalence of 175 and 18% in their study. 16,17 These findings suggest that parasitic infections and coexisting anaemia are significant health problem and need to be intervened with increasing awareness to increase the overall health and wellbeing of the tribal children.…”