A descriptive study of myriad risk factors in anemia of varied severity among reproductive female patients visiting a tertiary care setup in coastal Karnataka

Kalpana Balasubramaniyam; Grrishma Balakrishnan; Padmini Thalenjeri; Varsha Rao

doi:10.51248/.v43i02.2905

Authors

Kalpana Balasubramaniyam
Grrishma Balakrishnan
Padmini Thalenjeri
Varsha Rao

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51248/.v43i02.2905

Keywords:

Anemia, lifestyle, menstruation, risk factors

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Anemia is common among women within childbearing age. The present study was undertaken to analyze the burden ofsocio-demographic status, lifestyle determinants, menstrual parameters, and obstetric factors as risk factors among mild, moderate, and severe types of anaemic women of childbearing age and to assess their knowledge about it.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among 79 anemic women visiting a private medical college hospital in Karnataka. The study group was categorized into mild, moderate, and severe anemia based on the WHO criteria of haemoglobin concentration. Participants answered a validated and pretested questionnaire on their socio-demographic status, lifestyle characteristics, menstrual and obstetric history, and their knowledge regarding anemia.

Results: Descriptive statistics were used for the data analysis. The prevalence of mild and moderate anemia in the rural setup was higher compared to urban living. Most of the participants with mild to moderate anemia had education up to primary schooling and were married homemakers. Participants with moderate to severe anemia belonged to the below poverty line status. There was a higher intake of white meat among moderate anemic participants compared to the other groups.Majority of the participants with mild to moderate anemia suffered from dysmenorrhoea. Only 51% of the participants knew that anemia is a health problem and most of the participants were ignorant of the features of anemia.

Conclusion: We conclude that moderately anemic participants mostly belonged to rural areas, were less literate, belonging to lower economic strata, consuming white meat and junk food.

Author Biographies

Kalpana Balasubramaniyam

Department of Physiology, Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, 575018, Karnataka, India

Grrishma Balakrishnan

Department of Physiology, Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, 575018, Karnataka, India

Padmini Thalenjeri

Department of Physiology, AJ Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, Kuntikana, Mangaluru575 004, Karnataka, India

Varsha Rao

Ajjarkad District Hospital, Udupi, 576101, Karnataka, India

References

Johnson-Wimbley, T.D., Graham, D.Y. Diagnosis and management of iron deficiency anemia in the 21st century. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. 2011;4(3):177-184.

Mamta, D., Devi, T. Prevalence of anemia and knowledge regarding anemia among reproductive age women. IOSR J Nurs Health Sci. 2014;3:54-60.

Mishra, P., Ahluwalia, S., Garg, P., Kar, R., Panda, G. The prevalence of anaemia among reproductive age group (15-45 yrs) women in a PHC of rural field practice area of MM Medical College, Ambala, India. Journal of Women’s Health Care. 2012;1(3):3-5.

Bharati, P., Som, S., Chakrabarty, S., Bharati, S., Pal, M. Prevalence of anemia and its determinants among nonpregnant and pregnant women in India. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health. 2008;20(4):347-359.

Subhathra, N., Merlin, M. A study to assess the prevalence of anemia among women in a selected urban area in Coimbatore district. Journal of Scientific and Innovative Research. 2017;6(1):11-15.

Lilare, R.R., Sahoo, D.P. Prevalence of anaemia and its epidemiological correlates among women of reproductive age group in an urban slum of Mumbai. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;4(8):2841.

World Health Organization. Haemoglobin concentrations for the diagnosis of anaemia and assessment of severity. Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Information System. Document Reference WHO: NMH/NHD/MNM/11.1. http://www.who.int/entity/vmnis/indicators/haemoglobin2011.

Bhanushali, M.M., Shirode, A.R., Joshi, Y.M., Kadam, V.J. An intervention on iron deficiency anemia and change in dietary behavior among adolescent girls. International Journal Of Pharmacy And Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2011;3(1):40-42.

AlQuaiz, A.M., Gad Mohamed, A., Khoja, T.A., AlSharif, A., Shaikh, S.A., Al Mane, H., et al.,Prevalence of anemia and associated factors in child bearing age women in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Nutrition And Metabolism. 2013;2013https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/636585.

Patavegar, B.N., Kamble, M.S., Langare-Patil, S. Prevalence of anaemia and its epidemiological correlates among women of reproductive age in a rural setting. International Journal of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences. 2014;4(2):155-159.

Zhang, Q., Ananth, C.V., Rhoads, G.G., Li, Z. The impact of maternal anemia on perinatal mortality: a population-based, prospective cohort study in China. Annals of epidemiology. 2009;19(11):793-799.

Tashara, I.F., Achen, R.K., Quadras, R., D' Souza, M.V., D'Souza, P.J.J., Sankar, A.F. Knowledge and self-reported practices on prevention of iron deficiency anemia among women of reproductive age in rural area.International Journal of Advances in Scientific Research 2015; 1(07): 289-292.

Mondal, B., Maiti, S., Maity, B., Ghosh,D., Paul, S. Prevalence of anaemia among pregnant Bauri women of Bankura, West Bengal, India. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2012;6(2):231-233.

Dey, S., Goswami, S., Dey, T. Identifying predictors of childhood anaemia in North-East India. Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition. 2013;31(4):462.

Seema, B. Prevalence of anemia among pregnant women in rural Koppal: a study from teaching hospital, Koppal, India. International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2017;6(9):3792-3796.

Ghose, B., Tang, S., Yaya, S., Feng, Z. Association between food insecurity and anemia among women of reproductive age. PeerJ. 2016;4:e1945.

Ponder, A., Long, M.D. A clinical review of recent findings in the epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease. Clin Epidemiol. 2013;5(1):237-247.

Bentley, M.E., Griffiths, P.L. The burden of anemia among women in India. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2003;57(1):52-60.

Mehta, B. Widespread iron deficiency anemia in India-its causes. Indian Journal of Medical Sciences. 1982;36(5-6):108-112.

Ma, Q., Zhang, S., Liu, J., Wang, Q., Shen, H., Zhang, Y., et al.,Study on the prevalence of severe anemia among non-pregnant women of reproductive age in rural China: A large population-based cross-sectional study. Nutrients. 2017;9(12):1298.

Miller, D.D., Welch, R.M. Food system strategies for preventing micronutrient malnutrition. Food policy. 2013;42:115-128.

Asres, Y., Yemane, T., Gedefaw, L. Determinant factors of anemia among nonpregnant women of childbearing age in southwest Ethiopia: a community based study. International Scholarly Research Notices. 2014.

Ganapathi, K.C., Kumar, K.S. A cross-sectional study of anemia among women of reproductive age group (15-49 years) in a rural population of Tamil Nadu. International Journal Of Medical Science and Public health. 2017;6(3):524-530.

Gebremedhin, S., Enquselassie, F., Umeta, M. Prevalence and correlates of maternal anemia in rural Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. African J.Reproductive Health. 2014;18(1):44-53.

Nivedita, K., Shanthini, F. Knowledge, attitude and practices of pregnant women regarding anemia, iron rich diet and iron supplements and its impact on their hemoglobin levels. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2016;5(2):425-431.