ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of an intervention modifying dietary habits for the prevention of anaemia in rural India. DESIGN: Intervention study with data on anthropometric (weight, height) measurements, Hb and diet pattern. As per the cut-off for Hb in the government programme, women with Hb <11 g/dl had to be given Fe tablets and formed the supplemented group while those with Hb > 11 g/dl formed the non-supplemented group. Settings Three villages near Pune city, Maharashtra, India. SUBJECTS: Rural non-pregnant women (n 317) of childbearing age (15-35 years). RESULTS: After 1 year of intervention, mean Hb increased (from 10.94 (sd 1.22) g/dl to 11.59 (sd 1.11) g/dl) significantly (P < 0.01) with a consequent reduction in the prevalence of anaemia (from 82.0% to 55.4%) as well as Fe-deficiency anaemia (from 30.3% to 10.8%). Gain in Hb was inversely associated with the initial level of Hb. Significant gain in Hb (0.57 g/dl) was observed among women attending >50% of the meetings or repeating >50% of the recipes at home (0.45 g/dl) in the non-supplemented group and was smaller than that observed in the supplemented group. Consumption of green leafy vegetables more than twice weekly increased substantially from 44.7% to 60.6%, as did consumption of seasonal fruits. Logistic regression showed that women with lower participation in the intervention had three times higher risk (OR = 3.08; 95% CI 1.04, 9.13; P = 0.04) for no gain in Hb compared with those having high participation. CONCLUSIONS: Developing action programmes for improving nutritional awareness to enhance the consumption of Fe-rich foods has great potential for preventing anaemia in rural India.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/diet therapy , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/epidemiology , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/prevention & control , Diet , Rural Population , Adolescent , Adult , Dietary Supplements , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Fruit , Hemoglobins/metabolism , Humans , India/epidemiology , Iron, Dietary/administration & dosage , Logistic Models , Nutrition Assessment , Prevalence , Surveys and Questionnaires , Vegetables , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine various sociodemographic aspects related to consumption of micronutrient-rich foods like green leafy vegetables (GLV), which will be helpful in modifying dietary habits, a strategy that merits consideration for prevention of anaemia. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study for collecting data on socio-economic and anthropometric (weight, height) variables, Hb, dietary pattern (FFQ) and peripheral smear examination for classifying nutritional and iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA). SETTING: Three villages near Pune city, Maharashtra, India. SUBJECTS: Rural women (n 418) of childbearing age (15-35 years). RESULTS: Mean Hb was 11·07 g/dl. Seventy-seven per cent of the women were anaemic (Hb < 12 g/dl) and 28 % had IDA, indicating that a large proportion of the women had nutritional anaemia. Higher prevalence of IDA was associated with several sociodemographic and maternal parameters, but multiple logistic regression analysis showed significant (P < 0·05) risk of IDA with lower body weight (<40 kg), short maternal height (<145 cm), younger age at marriage (<19 years) and higher parity (≥ 2). Various socio-cultural reasons associated with low consumption of GLV included non-cultivation of GLV, priority for selling them rather than home consumption, dislike of GLV by husband and children, and lack of awareness about different recipes for GLV. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight that low consumption of GLV, which are treasures of micronutrients including Fe, is associated with genuine social reasons. This indicates a need for developing action programmes to improve nutritional knowledge and awareness leading to enhanced consumption of Fe-rich foods for preventing anaemia in rural India.
