A study to assess prevalence of anaemia among beneficiaries of Anaemia Mukt Bharat Campaign in Uttarakhand.

CONTEXT

Anaemia is defined as a decreased concentration of blood haemoglobin. It is one of the most common nutritional deficiency diseases observed globally affecting both developing and developed countries.

AIMS

To find out the prevalence of anaemia among the beneficiaries of Anaemia Mukt Bharat and its association with age and gender.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Uttarakhand by AIIMS Rishikesh in a month-long campaign including 5,776 beneficiaries. Camps were organized at the hospital campus, schools, district hospitals, Community Health Centre (CHC), Primary Health Centre (PHC), subcentres (SC), Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), slum areas, adolescent health day celebration sites and Village Health and Nutrition Day (VHND) sites.

METHODS AND MATERIAL

Data on age and gender along with haemoglobin level using HemoCue Haemoglobinometer was collected.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

These data were entered into Microsoft Excel and analysed to calculate the prevalence of anaemia and its association with age and gender using Epi Info software version 7. Pearson's Chi-square test was applied. value <0.05 was considered as significant.

RESULTS

Out of 5,776 participants 53.2% were anaemic. Females (54.6%) were more anaemic than males (45.1%). 33.5% of pregnant females were found to be anaemic.

CONCLUSIONS

Prevalence of anaemia was very high among the study participants. It shows that anaemia is a major public health problem so efforts should be taken to reduce the prevalence of anaemia and promote the health of an individual, community as well as the country.