Understanding the determinants of hemoglobin and iron status: adolescent–adult women comparisons in SANHANES‐1

Abstract

The study compared hemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin levels between adolescent and adult women with different body mass indices, dietary intake, and sociodemography. A secondary analysis of data for 3177 South African women ⩾15 years of age who participated in the SANHANES-1 study was undertaken. Abnormal Hb (≤12 g/dL) and serum ferritin (<15 μg/mL) were based on the World Health Organization's criteria for nonpregnant women aged ⩾15 years. Data were analyzed using STATA version 11. Overall, anemia was detected in 740 (23.3%) participants. Of the individuals in the subsample (n = 1123, 15-35 years) who had serum ferritin measured, 6.0% presented with iron depletion (ID) and 10.8% presented with iron-deficiency anemia (IDA). The highest prevalences of anemia, ID, and IDA were in 15- to 18-year-olds (11.2%, 8.8%, and 20.2%, respectively). Black young adults (19-24 years) were up to 40 times more likely to present with ID compared with their non-black counterparts. While overweight adolescents were three times more likely to be anemic, overweight and obese young adults, as well as obese older adults (25-35 years), were less likely to be anemic compared with normal-weight women of all age groups. Overconsumption of dietary fat increased ID by up to 54- and 11-fold (adolescents and 25- to 35-year-olds, respectively). In South Africa, anemia is most prevalent in adolescents and black women. Anemia is also an indicator of overconsumption of dietary fat and a marker of socioeconomic disadvantage.

Prevalence and associated factors of anemia among adolescent girls and boys at 10-14 years in rural western China

“…In addition to biomedical in uences, we also found that adolescents from higher-income households or whose mothers had higher educations were less likely to be anemic, which is in accord with other studies [6,11]. Similar results were observed when using the continuous Hb as the outcome.…”

“…developmental stages of puberty are signi cantly associated with anemia, studies reported differential associations between puberty development and adolescent anemia among boys and girls [9]. Some studies reported that factors associated with anemia among adolescents were different from those in other populations and ages [10,11], highlighting the essence of examining population-speci c factors. Given that iron de ciency is a key factor contributing to anemia [12] and that adolescence is a critical period of diet transition from childhood to adulthood [13,14], improving adolescent dietary intake is likely a reasonable approach for preventing anemia.…”

“…Given that iron de ciency is a key factor contributing to anemia [12] and that adolescence is a critical period of diet transition from childhood to adulthood [13,14], improving adolescent dietary intake is likely a reasonable approach for preventing anemia. One study from South Africa reported that the consumption of red meat was likely to decrease the risk of iron de ciency but not anemia among adolescent girls ≥15 years old [11]. Inconsistent results on the associations of eggs, dairy products, and heme-iron containing food sources with anemia were also reported [15,16].…”

Association between prevalence of anaemia and sedentary time among women

“…As shown in the study results, prevalence of anaemia among women aged over 10 y was 9.8%. These findings support that anaemia occurs more frequently in adolescents and women of reproductive age [9,10]. After adjusting for age, results showed that women with prevalence of anaemia had 31% lower odds of sitting for ≥ 7 h/d than those without anaemia.…”

“…Furthermore, excessive sitting time can increase cardiovascular disease risk [7,8]. Therefore, anaemia may lead to prolonged sedentary time among women due to several factors such as development of menstrual disorders and pregnancy [9,10].…”