Hemoglobin level and prevalence of anemia in Soliga tribal children of Karnataka, India

Abstract

Hemoglobin status of tribal children in Karnataka has not been investigated adequately and extensively. Hematological parameters help to understand the normal growth and nutritional status of the children. A cross-sectional purposive sampling study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of anemia among 152 Soliga tribal children belonging to 6+ to 10+ years of Mysore district, Karnataka, India. Hemoglobin level was determined by cyanmethaemoglobin method. As per the WHO cut-off points, the children were grouped under mild, moderate and severe anemia where the level of hemoglobin below 11.5 g/dL. BMI values were estimated based on the measurements of height and weight of the children. The overall prevalence of anemia was 91.4%; 7.2% mild, 74.3% moderate, and 9.9% severe anemia. Mean hemoglobin values between boys and girls of 7+ years age group were statistically significant. A higher proportion of girls were severely anemic in the age group of 9+ and 10+ years than boys. The prevalence of different grades of anemia was more or less equally distributed among boys and girls of Soliga children. Remarkably, about 94.3% normal BMI children were anemic. Comparison of mean values of anemia and BMI between boys and girls were found statistically significant. The level of hemoglobin among Soliga Children in Karnataka is a cause for concern. Appropriate measures should be taken by the respective authorities to decrease the prevalence of anemia and improve the condition of health among the children.South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.6(2) 2016: 37-41

The prevalence of anemia among the tribal children from the western districts of West Bengal, India

“…9 Various studies had reported the prevalence of anemia in a tribal population ranging from 51% to 91.4% in different states of India. [10][11][12][13][14] The present study was the first initiative on the estimation of Hb level and prevalence of anemia in tribal children from the western districts of WB. The prevalence of anemia in tribal school-going children (studying in class I to VIII) in these four districts were found to be 46.34%, that is as per to the prevalence (54.51%) reported in tribal population (n=88; mean age of 33.37 years) from the northern districts of WB.…”

“…15 Although the present study revealed that the prevalence was more in male children (47.32%) but other reported studies from different regions of India had shown an overall higher prevalence in females. [9][10][11][12] When prevalence of anemia was analyzed as per the age of the cohort, female surpasses the male population at 10 years of age showing the higher prevalence in adolescent females. This can be related to the physiological changes in males during adolescence (testosterone surge) and blood loss in females related to menarche.…”