Iron deficiency anemia: prevalence and associated factors amongst adolescent females

Abstract

This study investigates the prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) among a population of adolescent females at Alqabas Secondary school in Khartoum, Sudan. The study also explores the association between the possession of IDA and a number of socio-economic and biological factors. The analysis was based on a random sample of 150 participants whose measurements of Complete Blood Check (CBC), blood film, serum iron, serum ferritin and total iron binding capacity were obtained to examine the anemia profile. Statistical methods such as mean, proportions, Chi square test of association and correlation analysis were performed on the collected data to estimate the prevalence of IDA and investigate the association in question. The main findings indicate that the overall prevalence of IDA is estimated by 29.5%, but the disease appears to be more prevalent in younger girls as compared with their older counterparts. In addition, the results show that having IDA is mostly associated with: family income, age, father’s education, whether parents are separated, habits of eating mud and weekly consumption of meet.