Relationship of intestinal parasitism, malaria and under-nutrition to prevalence of anaemia in an urban community.

ABSTRACT

The presence of intestinal parasitic infection, malaria and under-nutrition in relation to prevalence of anaemia was evaluated in a cluster of urban population in Hyderabad. Prevalence of anaemia was 25.7 per cent by clinical assessment from pallor as against 80.5 per cent by estimation of haemoglobin concentration. Presence of intestinal parasitic infection (48.4 per cent) and malaria infection (18.3 per cent) had no statistical significant association with anaemic state. Under-nutrition (31.9 per cent of anaemic individuals) and low per capita monthly income of Rs. 100 and below (60.9 per cent of enaemic individuals) had a statistically significant relationship to anaemia. Clinical assessment of anaemia from pallor had a low sensitivity (31.9 per cent) and a high false negative rate (54.9 per cent), though clinical pallor had a strong statistical association to the presence of anaemia. (p less than 10.01), (Q = 1.0).