ANEMIA AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG SECONDARY AND PREPARATORY SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS OF HARAMAYA TOWN, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a condition characterized by reduction in the number of red blood cells (RBCs) and/or hemoglobin (Hb) concentration. It is a global public health problem (micro nutrient deficiency) that affects 24.8% of the world population. Approximately 50% of cases of anemia are considered to be due to Iron deficiency. Anemia among adolescents in Ethiopia ranged from 13 % to 32 % indicating it is mild to moderate public health problem. Unfortunately, because initiatives to prevent anemia commonly target infants, young children, pregnant and lactating women, and not necessarily adolescents, the needs of adolescents may remain unmet and the consequences of anemia in adolescents continued. Objective: To assess the magnitude of anemia and associated factors among secondary and preparatory school adolescents. Methods and materials: School based cross-sectional study design was conducted among randomly selected 510 secondary and preparatory school adolescents in Haramaya Town from February 1-29, 2017, Eastern Ethiopia. A Structured and pretested questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-economic and demographic, nutrition related, health related and menstruation related variables. Anthropometric data (weight and height) and hemoglobin level were measured for each (n=493) study participants. For Hemoglobin (Hb) level determination, blood sample was taken from tip of finger and analyzed by Hemocue HB 301 analyzer. The measured Hb was adjusted xiii for altitude of the town by subtracting 0.8 g/dl. Weight and height were measured with participants light clothing, bare footed, hands hanging along sides with head and neck straight and recorded to the nearest of 0.1 units. Multi stage cluster sampling was used to select the study participants. Data were entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS for windows version 20 for further analysis. Bivariate logistic regression was done to see the association between independent variables and dependent variable and multi variate logistic regression was done to control for confounders and to identify factors independently associated with anemia. Level of statistical significance was declared at p-value < 0.05. Results: A total of 493 adolescents were included in the study yielding a response rate of 96.6%. The prevalence of anemia was found to be 29.4%, 95 % CI: (25.6%, 33.5%). It was more prevalent in females (40.1%) than males (23.7%). Being female adolescent [(AOR=2.31, 95 % CI: (1.51, 3.54)], adolescents from grades 9-10 [(AOR=1.66, 95 % CI: (1.004, 2.77)], adolescents born to mothers who have no formal education [(AOR= 2.23, 95% CI: (1.02, 4.89)], and low dietary diversity score [(AOR=2.33, 95 % CI: (1.12, 4.86)] were significantly associated with anemia. Conclusion: Prevalence of anemia among school adolescents was moderate public health problem. Female sex, grade levels 9-10, low dietary diversity score and illiterate maternal educational status were independent predictors of anemia. Therefore, Iron rich and diversified foods consumption should be given attention with particular focus on female adolescents for improving adolescents’ health.