Anaemia among non-pregnant women in rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and severity of anaemia among non-pregnant women in rural Bangladesh and describe its social distribution. Design: A cross-sectional study conducted in February±March 1996. Haemoglobin concentration was measured on a capillary blood sample by cyanmethaemoglobin method. The World Health Organization (WHO) classification was used to define anaemia. Setting: Twelve randomly selected villages in Fulbaria thana of Mymensingh district, about 110 km northwest of Dhaka city in Bangladesh. Subjects: A systematically selected sample of 179 non-pregnant apparently healthy women aged 15±45 years. Results: Anaemia was highly prevalent (73%; 95%CI 67±79%). Most of the women had mild (52%) or moderate (20%) anaemia, but a few of them suffered from severe anaemia (1%). Ascaris was common (39%) while hookworm was not (1%). The anaemia prevalence had no statistically significant association with age, parity or Ascaris infestation P . 0X05 X Women with less than 1 year of schooling, who were landless or who reported having an economic deficit in the household had significantly higher prevalence of anaemia P , 0X05 X There was a significantly increasing trend in anaemia prevalence with decreasing socioeconomic situation (SES). However anaemia was common in all social strata. Conclusions: Although the overall anaemia prevalence among non-pregnant rural women is high, only a few women suffer from severe anaemia. Women of all SES groups irrespective of their age and parity are affected by anaemia. KeywordsAnaemia Severe anaemia Non-pregnant women Socioeconomic Rural Bangladesh Anaemia is a major public health problem. It has been estimated that 2150 million people in the world are anaemic, of whom about 50% are thought to suffer from iron deficiency anaemia 1 . Iron deficiency and anaemia are most prevalent among pregnant women and young children with the highest prevalence in low income countries 2 . Iron deficiency and anaemia during pregnancy are associated with low birth weight, preterm delivery and increased perinatal mortality 3±5 . Routine supplementation of iron through the primary health care system has been widely practised to reduce maternal anaemia, although the programmes have shown limited effectiveness 6,7 .Women of reproductive age in low income countries who are currently not pregnant are also affected by anaemia 8 . The most important functional consequences are fatigue and reduced productivity 9 . However, the recent interest in iron supplementation of non-pregnant women is mostly rationalized by its potential impact on maternal anaemia. Prepregnancy haemoglobin concentration and iron status are believed to be predisposing factors for maternal anaemia.Several studies have found a negative association between socioeconomic situation (SES) and anaemia prevalence 10±12 . Women from poor households are usually found to have higher anaemia prevalence. Poor SES is known to be associated with a number of factors such as high parity, short birth interval, poor diet both in quant...

Nutritional Anaemia Among Currently Married Females in the Reproductive Age Group in Rural Jammu.

“…Similar findings were observed in Burkina Faso by Meda N et al 21 (1993). Many other authors 19,20,23,24,27,28,[35][36][37] reported similar findings in different parts of the world.…”

“…A prevalence of 30-50% was reported among the women of reproductive age by several authors, 14,15,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] in their studies conducted in various parts of the world.…”

Assessment of maternal anemia in rural Western China between 2001 and 2005: a two-level logistic regression approach

“…For instance, studies showed that postpartum anemia occurred in 27% of women overall in the United States [26]; in Japan, the incidence of anemia among lactating women and non-pregnant/non-lactating women were 11.1% (HBC < 12 g/dl) and 15.7% respectively [27]. Research had confirmed that severe anemia was strongly associated with a higher risk of maternal mortality, with a 4.5-fold risk of maternal death in low-income countries [28,29]. In our study, however, the percentage of women with severe anemia was very low in both 2001 and 2005.…”

Arsenic Exposure and Anemia in Bangladesh: A Population-Based Study

“…Although we had no way to determine the rates of anemia in our study area before arsenic exposure, the proportion of subjects with anemia (hemoglobin Ͻ12 g/dL) in those exposed to the lowest (Ͻ50 g/L) concentrations of arsenic was 40.7% of female and 5.4% of male subjects, a rate lower than that found in other studies in Bangladesh. 7,8 Given that Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study eligibility criteria included being Total model controlled for arsenic exposure, age, tobacco/bidi smoking, body mass index, land ownership, intakes of folate, iron, and B12, and total energy. married and having access to a well, it is likely that study subjects may be of slightly greater socioeconomic status than rural Bangladeshis as a whole.…”

“…6 Local and national surveys in Bangladesh have estimated the prevalence of anemia to be between 50% and 70% among adult females. 7,8 Anemia is associated with higher maternal and infant mortality, slower recovery from illness or surgery, lessened breastfeeding capacity, cognitive impairment, and overall weakness, leading to lower work productivity. 6 Experimental studies have suggested that inorganic arsenic can bind to animal and human hemoglobin and can affect hemoglobin levels.…”