Prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among married women in 19 sub-Saharan African countries

Abstract

Background Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains the region with the highest burden of anemia globally. Since anemia has both health and non-health-related consequences, its reduction is one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among married women in SSA. Methods Using Stata version-14 software, the analysis was done on 89,029 married women from the Demographic and Health Surveys of 19 countries in SSA. Pearson Chi-Square test and Binary logistic regression analyses were used to examine the factors associated with anemia. The results were presented using adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) at a 95% Confidence Interval (CI). A p-value less than or equal to 0.05 (p ≤ 0.05) was considered statistically significant. Results The pooled analysis showed that 49.7% of married women were anemic. Of these, 1.04% and 15.05% were severely and moderately anemic respectively, and the rest 33.61% were mildly anemic. Husband education (primary school-aOR = 0.84, 95% CI; 0.71–0.99), wealth index (middle-aOR = 0.81, 95% CI; 0.68–0.96, richer-aOR = 0.69, 95% CI; 0.57–0.84, richest-aOR = 0.68, 95% CI; 0.51–0.91), modern contraceptive use (yes-aOR = 0.68, 95% CI; 0.56–0.81) and religion (Muslim-aOR = 1.27, 95% CI; 1.11–1.46, others-aOR = 0.73, 95% CI; 0.59–0.90) were factors associated with anemia among married women. Conclusion The findings show that nearly half of the married women are affected by anemia. Enhancing partners’ educational levels, and economic empowerment of women, strengthening family planning services, and working with religious leaders to reduce the perception and religious beliefs related to food restrictions can be the main focus to reduce the burden of anemia among married women in SSA.

Factors associated with anaemia among pregnant women in Rwanda: An analysis of the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey of 2020

“…Pregnant women whose husbands/partners had primary or no formal education were less likely to be anaemic in this study. In reality, this is contrary to what is expected, for example, studies conducted in Nepal, India and sub-Saharan Africa [51][52][53] found that women whose husbands/partners had a higher education level were less likely to be affected by anaemia during pregnancy. The observed pattern, however, may be due to misinformation and perceptions about taking iron supplements during pregnancy, especially among the educated.…”

Hemoglobin Levels Among Male Agricultural Workers

“…19 The two primary confounders we expected to influence the relationship between occupation and Hgb were nutrition and socioeconomic status. We accounted for these major confounders using body mass index, marital status, and religion (which can influence diet) for the former, [20][21][22] and marital status, wealth index, educational level, and cluster agricultural percentage for the latter. 23 Through IPUMS-DHS, we extracted data on male workers' occupation, altitude-adjusted Hgb, age, body mass index, wealth index, education level, marital status, religion, and cluster agricultural percentage.…”

Prevalence of anemia and associated factors among adults in a select population in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria

“…Anaemia is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in Africa and while it is not high on the list of main global health concerns, 12 in less developed countries can contribute unnecessarily and greatly to the depletion of already strained resources and increase the overall burden of disease. 13 Although numerous studies have been carried out on the prevalence and effect of anaemia on the morbidity and mortality of pregnant women, non-pregnant women and children, relevant data to determine the prevalence of anaemia in other populations such as adolescents, men and the elderly are limited. 14 Research has shown that anaemia is concentrated in low socioeconomic groups and that there is a strong correlation between the overall economic status of a country and the prevalence of anaemia.…”

“… 6 Anemia is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in Africa and while it is not high on the list of the main global health concerns, 12 in less developed countries, it can contribute unnecessarily and greatly to the depletion of already strained resources and increase the overall burden of disease. 13 …”