Department of Survey Research & Data Analytics, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Department of Public Health & Mortality Studies, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400088, India.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Aug 3;22(1):1478. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13863-w.
Anemia is a significant public health challenge that affects the population of all nations. Anemia among adolescents emerged as an alarming public health issue as it harms an individual's physical capacity and cognitive and work performance. The study aims to determine the effect of changes in individual and household level factors on the prevalence of anemia among adolescent boys and girls.
The study utilized data from two waves of the "Understanding the lives of adolescent and young adults" (UDAYA) survey, conducted in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh during 2015-16 (wave-1) and 2018-19 (wave-2). The sample size for the present study was 4216 and 5974 unmarried adolescent boys and girls aged 10-19 years in both waves. We performed descriptive analysis to observe the characteristics of adolescents during 2015-16. Further, changes in selected independent variables from wave-1 to wave-2 were examined using the proportion test. Moreover, random-effect regression models were employed to examine the association of changes in individual and household level factors with anemia prevalence among adolescents.
The prevalence of anemia decreased over time among adolescent boys (33 to 30%), whereas it increased among adolescent girls (59 to 63%). The results from the random-effect model show that adolescent boys who used shared toilets were more anemic than those who used a private restroom [β:0.05, 95% CI:(0.01, 0.08)]. Moreover, underweight [β:0.05, CI:(0.01, 0.09)] and thin [β:0.04, CI:(0.00, 0.07)] adolescent boys were more likely to be anemic compared to their normal counterparts. Additionally, boys who belonged to the poorest [β:0.08, CI:(0.02, 0.14)] households had a higher risk of anemia than the richest household.
The anemia prevalence was higher among adolescents aged 10-19 years in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This study has filled an information gap by providing state-level representative estimates indicating underweight status and thinness as the common factors behind the anemia prevalence among adolescent boys than in girls. Iron deficiency anemia is the most prevalent in certain age groups in India. Hence, Anemia prevention efforts and iron-folic acid (IFA) supplementation programs are currently being strengthened in India, targeting the high-risk population.
贫血是一个严重的公共卫生挑战，影响着所有国家的人口。青少年贫血已经成为一个令人震惊的公共卫生问题，因为它会损害个人的身体能力以及认知和工作表现。本研究旨在确定个体和家庭层面因素的变化对青少年男女贫血患病率的影响。
本研究使用了 2015-16 年（第 1 波）和 2018-19 年（第 2 波）在比哈尔邦和北方邦进行的“了解青少年和年轻人生活”（UDAYA）调查的两波数据。本研究的样本量为 4216 名和 5974 名 10-19 岁的未婚青少年男孩和女孩。我们进行描述性分析，以观察 2015-16 年青少年的特征。此外，使用比例检验检查第 1 波到第 2 波之间选定的自变量的变化。此外，采用随机效应回归模型检验个体和家庭层面因素的变化与青少年贫血患病率的关联。
青少年男孩的贫血患病率随时间呈下降趋势（从 33%降至 30%），而少女的贫血患病率则呈上升趋势（从 59%升至 63%）。随机效应模型的结果表明，使用公共厕所的青少年男孩比使用私人厕所的男孩更容易贫血[β：0.05，95%置信区间：（0.01，0.08）]。此外，体重不足[β：0.05，CI：（0.01，0.09）]和消瘦[β：0.04，CI：（0.00，0.07）]的青少年男孩比正常体重的男孩更容易贫血。此外，来自最贫困家庭的男孩[β：0.08，CI：（0.02，0.14）]患贫血的风险高于最富裕家庭的男孩。
在北方邦和比哈尔邦，10-19 岁青少年的贫血患病率较高。本研究通过提供州级代表性估计数填补了信息空白，这些估计数表明，体重不足和消瘦是男孩贫血患病率高于女孩的共同因素。缺铁性贫血是印度某些年龄段最常见的贫血类型。因此，印度目前正在加强贫血预防工作和铁叶酸（IFA）补充计划，针对高危人群。
