Anemia among Adolescent Girls in Tribal Area of Visakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh

Introduction: Prevalence of anemia is more than 60% among all vulnerable groups and may be much higher among adolescent girls. In tribal areas, this problem is much higher because of malnutrition, infections, and lack of sufficient knowledge regarding this problem.

Objectives:

• To study overall prevalence and epidemiological determinants of anemia among adolescent girls

• To compare levels of nutritional anemia among different age groups

• To recommended measures for prevention and control of anemia

Methodology: Cross-sectional study conducted in Tribal area of Visakhapatnam district. Sample size of 270 was selected by random sampling. Household survey was conducted to note Heights, Weights, and for Hemoglobin estimation along other epidemiological data. Hemoglobin estimation was done with Sahli's method. Diet survey was conducted in 1/5th of sample i.e. among 54 adolescent girls to know intake of iron and energy.

Results: About 88.9% of adolescent girls are anemic in them 17.8 are severely anemic. The mean hemoglobin content is 9.78gms/dl. Highest prevalence was seen in the age group of 12-13 and 14-15 years of age group that is 85% and 86.5% respectively. About 53.6% of adolescent girls gave history of passage of worms in stool. 2/3rds of adolescent girls iron in take is <10 mg/day. About 44.5% of adolescent girls have intake of 1000-1500 kcals of energy.