| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 1 | Page : 10-15 |
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Prevalence, knowledge, and risk factors of anemia among school-going adolescent girls in a rural community of Telangana
Arun Kiran Soodi Reddy1, P LSS Lahari2
1 Department of Community Medicine, Malla Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
2 MBBS Scholar, Malla Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Arun Kiran Soodi Reddy
Department of Community Medicine, Malla Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences, Suraram, Hyderabad, Telangana
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/mjhs.mjhs_29_20
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Background: Since anemia is the most prevalent disorder in India, it got the significance to be studied and understood about. It is necessary to make people aware of the causes, the preventive measures, and the importance of nutritional supplements, proper diet required to prevent anemia.
Objective: The objective of the study was to study prevalence, knowledge, and risk factors of anemia among school-going adolescent girls.
Materials and Methods: This was a school-based cross-sectional study among 260 randomly selected adolescent school girls (10–19 years) from different private and government schools were included in the study. Study subjects were interviewed using a preformed and pretested, semi-structured questionnaire. Hemoglobin was measured using hemoglobinometer.
Results: Mean age was 12.64 ± 1.53 years. Only 10% knew about anemia. Only 20% opined that decrease in red blood cells causes anemia. Majority did not know which mineral deficiency causes anemia. Nearly 10% said that hemoglobin is measured to find anemia. Only one-fourth felt that heavy blood loss during menstruation can cause anemia. Nearly 50% felt that anemics have weakness, breathlessness, and are more prone to infectious diseases. Less than 10% of the study participants knew about iron-rich foods. Less than 5% knew that coffee, tea, and milk hamper iron absorption and Vitamin-C enhances. Half of them knew that anemia is a life-threatening condition in severe cases and may require blood transfusion. Only 20% knew about anemia prophylaxis program. There was no significant difference among different variables such as different age groups, religion, socioeconomic status, type of family, and diet. However, there was a significant difference among different categories of body mass index and anemia.
Conclusion: Prevalence of anemia is higher (96.5%) among school-going adolescents in a rural community of Telangana. Overall, the knowledge levels are quite low.
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