Socio-demographic Correlates of Anaemia among Adolescent Girls in Rural Area of District Ludhiana (Punjab)

Aim: The present study was conducted to study the correlation of various socio-demographic factors with anaemia among the adolescent girls in rural area of Ludhiana district, Punjab.

Subject and Methods: A total of 450 adolescent girls (13-16 years) were randomly selected from the three government schools one each from the three villages i.e. Hambran, Bharowal Kalan and Bhundri of Ludhiana district. An interview schedule was developed to collect the general information along with the estimation of haemoglobin.

Results: The mean age of the selected subjects was found to be 14.3 ±1.1 years and mean Hb. level was 10.0±1.8 g/dl. About 76.5 per cent of the total subjects were found to be anaemic (having Hb. level <12 g/dl). There was a positive correlation between the incidence of anaemia and income of the families as 91.9 per cent of the anaemic subjects belonged to the families having monthly income below Rs. 5000/-. Also, the education level of the parents had a strong correlation with the prevalence of anaemia among the subjects.

Conclusion: So, it can be concluded that the dietary habits of rural masses need to be improved through nutrition education programmes about various food based strategies such as inclusion of seasonal fruits and vegetables and avoidance of tea/coffee along with the meals in their diet on daily basis, so as the incidence of anaemia may be reduced.