Introduction: Adolescents face a wide-range of health problems because of combination of biological, psychological and social factors. In developing countries, many children enter adolescence undernourished, making them more prone to anemia. In order to address the problem of anemia, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India launched Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Programme for adolescents. There is a need to understand the burden of the problem and the utilization of the intervention.
Aims and objectives
1. To assess the prevalence of anemia and associated risk factors in adolescent school children in rural area in Goa
2. To study the utilization and impact of WIFS Programme.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 291 adolescent children from two schools situated in rural area in Goa. One School had implemented WIFS while the other one had not initiated WIFS at the time of the study. Data was collected using pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Hemoglobin testing was done using Hemocue Hb 301 photometer. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 14.0.
Results: Prevalence of anemia in adolescent school children was found to be 12.4% in this study. Thirty one (86.1%) of children had mild anemia, 5 (13.9%) had moderate anemia and none of them had severe anemia. Prevalence of anemia was significantly higher in females 24 (16.1%) as compared to males 12 (8.5%) [p = 0.047]. Religion, socio-economic status, diet, history of worm infestation and Body Mass Index was not found to be statistically significantly associated with anemia in adolescents in the present study. Prevalence of anemia in the WIFS implemented school was 17 (12.1%) and in the non WIFS implemented school, it was 19 (12.6%). No statistically significant difference was found in two schools in relation to prevalence of anemia (p = 0.672).
Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia in Goa was found to be lower than most other States in India. However it was of mild public health importance in the region. There was no significant difference found in schools implementing and not implementing the WIFS programme with respect to the prevalence of anemia. Strengthening the existing programmes such as mid day meal programme, school health programme, Weekly Iron and Folic acid Supplementation programme together with health education about diet and consumption of iron rich foods is necessary to further decrease the prevalence of anemia.
