PREVALENCE OF ANEMIA AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS OF SELECTED WARDS OF DHARAN, SUNSARI, NEPAL

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence of anemia among 146 adolescent girls and to find factors associated with it from specific wards of Dharan. A structured questionnaire was administered to the participants for socio-demographic and food frequency data. Hemocue Hb Photometer was used to determine hemoglobin level. Anthropometric measurement was used to determine BMI for age based on WHO reference. Chi-square test was used to analyze the association between hemoglobin and various factors using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. The average hemoglobin levels of the girls were 12.1 ± 1.2 (gm/dl). Minimum and maximum value were 8.4 gm/dl and 15.8 gm/dl respectively. Prevalence of anemia was 45.9% with varying degrees ranging from mild to moderate which were 32.2% and 13.7 % respectively. 30.8% of them were categorized underweight in accordance to BMI-for-age. All the participants consumed inadequate nutrients as compared to their respective recommended dietary allowances. Types of family, eating habit (veg or non-veg), age at on-set of menarche, severity of blood flow during menstruation, food frequency showed a significant association (p < 0.05) with haemoglobin level. On the other hand, age, father and mother’s education, father’s occupation, consumption of deworming tablet, availability of toilet facilities, kitchen garden, religion, cast, birth order, days of blood flow, health information, iron intake, folic acid intake, vitamin B12 intake and type of drinking water had no significant association (p > 0.05) with anemia. Present study revealed anemia to be a major public health problem among adolescent girls of government schools of Dharan sub-metropolitan city. A well and clear health education sessions strategy regarding anemia, menstruation and nutritional requirement of adolescent girls needs to be more effective to overcome these issues.