Abstract

Background: Amongst various causes of anemia, iron deficiency is responsible for about 50 percent of anemia in school going children and in women of reproductive age-group, and 80 percent in children 2–5 years of age-groups[4]. Several factors affect the nutritional status of adolescents. Among these, socio-economic and demographic factors are associated with worldwide patterns of nutritional anaemia. So this study was planned to assess prevalence of anemia and its association with socio-demographic factors among school going adolescents of Bhopal district. Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional study done after ethical committee approval, carried out in randomly selected government schools of Bhopal (M.P.), India. Results: Out of 257 study participants, 49.8% (128) were boys and 50.2% (129) were girls. 32.8 % boys and 57.4% girls had anemia. Out of all 64 anemic adolescents taking vegetarian diet, 23.4% were boys and 76.6% were girls and out of all 52 anemic adolescents taking mixed diet, 51.9% were boys and 48.1% were girls. Out of 93 menstruating girls, 54.4% girls were anemic with normal blood loss during menstruation, however 100% girls were anemic with excessive blood loss. Anemia was more prevalent in lower socioeconomic class, i.e. class IV and V (71.7% and 71.1% respectively) than in higher classes (Modified Kuppuswamy Classification). All these findings were found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: Higher prevalence of anemia among adolescents suggests that it is very essential to attend this problem. There is significant association of anemia with type of diet, menstruation and socio-economic status. Promoting awareness regarding consumption of iron rich foods, educating about menstrual hygiene and screening target groups for anaemia should be done periodically. Prophylaxis and treatment of anemia should also be taken care of.

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