Comparison of Health status among married and unmarried girls of late adolescent age in an urban slum of Delhi

Authors

  • Sujata Gupta Municipal Corporation Medical College & Hindurao Hospital, Delhi
  • Neha Taneja Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
  • Vinoth Gnana Chellaiyan Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Kelambakkam, Chennai, TamilNadu
  • Fasna Liaqathali Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Nellikuppam, Kanchipuram, TamilNadu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47203/IJCH.2019.v31i02.006

Keywords:

Late Adolescent Age; Early Marriage; Health Status

Abstract

Background: Late adolescent girls are being forced into marriage and the burden of marital responsibilities, most notably partner’s sexual demands and childbearing and child-rearing, led to significant emotional distress and depression. Thus, early marriage for girls might have profound impact on their health status. Aims & Objectives: To study impact of early marriage on health status of married girls of late adolescent age and to compare them with unmarried girls of same age. Material & Methods: A comparison study was conducted among girls of late adolescent age in an urban slum of North East Delhi. One sixty study participants were included in each group. A pretested interview schedule was used for collecting details such as knowledge on reproductive health, physical parameters and anemic status. Chi square tests were used and odds ratio was calculated. Results: Majority of married girls, 102(63.8%) had middle school education while 93(58.1%) of unmarried girls had high school education. The mean (SD) age of marriage of married adolescent girls was 17(±) years while their husband age at time of marriage was 21.6(±) years. Levels of hemoglobin were low in both groups 87.5% in married girls and 98.75% in unmarried girls. Conclusion: Early marriage was found to have impact on menstruation, reproductive health and nutritional status of adolescent girls.

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Published

2019-06-30

How to Cite

1.
Gupta S, Taneja N, Chellaiyan VG, Liaqathali F. Comparison of Health status among married and unmarried girls of late adolescent age in an urban slum of Delhi. Indian J Community Health [Internet]. 2019 Jun. 30 [cited 2024 Nov. 21];31(2):185-92. Available from: http://iapsmupuk.org/journal/index.php/IJCH/article/view/1108

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