Prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age group in a rural block of Northern India

Abstract

Background: Nutritional anaemia is a major public health problem in India and is primarily due to iron deficiency. The National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS-3) data suggests that anaemia is widely prevalent among all age groups, and is particularly high nearly 55.3% amongst the most vulnerable in all women (15-49 years) Aims & Objectives: 1. To determine prevalence of Anaemia among women of reproductive age group in rural block of Haryana. 2. Effects of anaemia on mean height and weight of women of reproductive age group. Material Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive. All the women of reproductive age group (15-45 years) of CHC Sample block were included as study participants. Results: The overall prevalence of anaemia was 48.9%. 4302 out of 8590 females had varying severity of anaemia while anaemia was absent in 51.1% of the study participants. Out of the 8590 females, 1612 (18.8%) were mildly anaemic, 2374 (27.6%) were moderately anaemic and 217 (2.5%) were severely anaemic. The study revealed that mean weight and mean height in non anaemic females was more than that of varying degree (severe, moderate, mild) of anaemic females. Conclusion: the present study revealed anaemia to be a major health problem among the women of reproductive age group in rural areas in Haryana affecting their health status.