Anemia among adolescent girls in Shimla Hills of north India: does BMI and onset of menarche have a role?

BACKGROUND

Anemia is a global public health problem. Adolescents are vulnerable to iron deficiency because of increased iron requirements related to rapid growth.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To estimate the prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls and to study whether anemia is associated with body mass index and the attainment of menarche.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted in selected schools of Shimla district. One thousand five ninety-six (10-19 yrs old) school girls were included in the study. The study was conducted from June 2011 to May 2012 (1 year). Data analysis was done using SPSSS software version 18 for windows.

RESULTS

Prevalence of anemia was found to be 21.4%. It was seen that among the anemic adolescent girls, 77.3% had mild anemia, 21.9% had moderate anemia, and 0.5% had severe anemia. BMI and onset of menarche had no significant effect on the prevalence of anemia. In bivariate logistic regression, age and urban residence were significantly related to anemia.

CONCLUSION

We observed a low prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls. We recommend that adolescents be screened periodically for anemia and multi-sectoral, community-based approach be adopted to combat this serious public health issue.