A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess the Effect of Epidemiological Determinants on Prevalence of Anaemia among the Adolescent and Reproductive Age Females Residing at Rural Bikaner

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Nutritional anaemia is a worldwide problem, withthe highest prevalence in developing countries. In India, 20-40% of maternal deaths are due to anaemia. 55 % of Indianadolescent girls are anaemic and the prevalence of anaemia inwomen of reproductive age is 53.1% and 56% of adolescentgirls and 46.8 % of the women aged 15-49 years are anaemicin Rajasthan and the prevalence was slightly higher in ruralthan urban areas.Objective: To study association between epidemiologicaldeterminants and anaemia prevalence among 10-49 year agegroup females of rural Bikaner.Methodology: Community based cross-sectional study, A totalof 600 women were selected for study by systematic randomsampling. Inclusion criteria included informed verbal consentand no critical or chronic illness.Results: Most (92.50%) of the study population was anaemic.Mean haemoglobin value among anaemic and non-anaemicfemales was 8.65±1.23 g/dl & 11.24±1.21 g/dl respectively.About 2/3rd (69.55%) of the anaemic study population hadmoderate anaemia. Only 2.50 % of the anaemic studypopulation had severe anaemia.Conclusion: Anaemia is a major public health problem amongadolescent and reproductive age females in rural area and agegroups, type of family, age at marriage, age at first child,pattern of menstrual cycle, medical history of study populationand signs and symptoms were associated with anaemia inadolescent and reproductive age females.