Department of Health Science, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
PLoS One. 2024 Nov 18;19(11):e0313071. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0313071. eCollection 2024.
Anemia is a major public health concern; however, research on anemia and its contributing variables is scarce. To address the gap, we investigated the prevalence and associated factors of anemia in school-aged adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh.
We conducted a cross-sectional study in two secondary schools at Chandpur, Bangladesh, from January to April 2022. We randomly selected 422 adolescent girls based on prevalence rates from existing research to ensure reliable estimates and a robust study representation. We performed interviews with a semi-structured questionnaire after receiving ethical permission and written informed consent. In addition, physical examination and anthropometric measurements were done, followed by blood testing to identify anemia. Blood hemoglobin was measured using a spectrophotometric method, and quality control was ensured by validated results with control samples. Univariate with multiple logistic regression was employed for analysis to find the association between anemia and all other variables that were adjusted to control the potential effect of confounding variables.
The overall prevalence of anemia was 37.7% (mild- 33.8% and moderate- 3.9%). In the univariate analysis having a working mother (OR 3.84; 95% CI 1.31-11.26), undernutrition (OR 2.40; 95% CI 1.27-4.52), and irregular lunch consumption (OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.00-4.60) were associated with anemia. Conversely, being a user of a slab latrine (OR 0.61; 95% CI 0.40-0.93) and not weekly consumption of pure milk (OR 0.62; 95% CI 0.41-0.92) were negatively associated with anemia. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, associated factors for prevalent anemia were working mother [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 7.65; 95% CI 1.97-29.50], slab latrine user (aOR 0.46; 95% CI 0.26-0.79), and irregular lunch consumption (aOR 2.92; 95% CI 1.21-7.03).
The prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh remains high with undernutrition. Anemia is associated with working mothers, slab latrine users, and irregular lunch consumers within the studied population.' Thus, policymakers may promote school-based nutritional education and lunch programs with iron supplementation and improve sanitary facilities.
贫血是一个主要的公共卫生问题；然而，贫血及其相关变量的研究却很少。为了解决这一差距，我们调查了孟加拉国农村地区学龄期少女贫血的患病率及其相关因素。
我们在孟加拉国钱德普尔的两所中学进行了一项横断面研究，时间为 2022 年 1 月至 4 月。我们根据现有研究的患病率随机选择了 422 名青春期少女，以确保可靠的估计和稳健的研究代表性。在获得伦理许可和书面知情同意后，我们使用半结构化问卷进行了访谈。此外，还进行了体格检查和人体测量，并进行了血液检测以确定贫血。使用分光光度法测量血红蛋白，并用对照样本验证结果确保质量控制。采用单变量和多变量逻辑回归分析来发现贫血与所有其他变量之间的关联，并调整了这些变量以控制潜在的混杂变量的影响。
贫血的总患病率为 37.7%（轻度 33.8%，中度 3.9%）。在单变量分析中，有工作的母亲（OR 3.84；95%CI 1.31-11.26）、营养不良（OR 2.40；95%CI 1.27-4.52）和不规则午餐消费（OR 2.15；95%CI 1.00-4.60）与贫血有关。相反，使用板坯厕所（OR 0.61；95%CI 0.40-0.93）和不每周食用纯牛奶（OR 0.62；95%CI 0.41-0.92）与贫血呈负相关。在多变量逻辑回归分析中，与普遍贫血相关的因素包括有工作的母亲[调整后的优势比（aOR）7.65；95%CI 1.97-29.50]、使用板坯厕所（aOR 0.46；95%CI 0.26-0.79）和不规则午餐消费（aOR 2.92；95%CI 1.21-7.03）。
孟加拉国农村地区学龄期少女贫血的患病率仍然很高，且与营养不良有关。贫血与研究人群中的母亲外出工作、使用板坯厕所和不规则午餐消费有关。因此，政策制定者可能会通过在学校开展营养教育和午餐计划，提供铁补充剂，并改善卫生设施来改善这一情况。
