Screening of Anemia Among School-going Adolescents Using a Point-of-care Digital Hemoglobinometer in Rural Dehradun District
Keywords:
Anemia Mukt Bharat, Iron Deficiency Anaemia, Malnutrition, Screening, Iron Folic Acid SupplementsAbstract
Background: Despite the government’s efforts, anemia remains a public health problem among Indian adolescents in the moderate-to-severe category.
Aims and Objectives: Following launch of Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) in 2018, the present study aims to screen school-going adolescents for anemia in rural Dehradun district using a point-of-care digital hemoglobinometer and their extent of utilizing AMB-related services.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 381 school-going adolescents identified by a simple random sampling method. Data were collected by personal interviews using a pretested data collection tool. Hemoglobin (Hb) was measured from capillary blood samples using a digital hemoglobinometer (HemocueHb 301). Malnutrition was assessed using gender-specific combined growth charts with a BMI quick assessment tool. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0 was used for analysis.
Results: 149 (39.1%) screened positive for anemia using age-specific AMB cut-offs. Besides, 67 (17.5%) screened overweight/obese, 36 (9.4%) stunted, 25 (6.6%) underweight, and 13 (3.4%) wasted. 276 (72.4%) had never undergone routine anemia screening. Out of the remaining 105, 100 (95.2%] underwent annual screening; 54 (51.4%) gave venous samples, 48 (45.7%) in private settings, and 42 (40.0%) had paid for the services contrary to the recommended guidelines. 328 (86.1%) had not received prophylactic weekly IFA supplementation (WIFS). Out of the remaining 53, all received tablets from govt. schools free-of-cost. 35 (66.1%] adolescents reported consuming blue IFA tablets and 339 (89.0%] were dewormed under AMB.
Conclusion: The study revealed a persisting anemia burden among adolescents, corresponding to state trends, with low utilization rates of AMB services.
Downloads
References
Rana SK, Anand N, Hussain S. An epidemiological study of prevalence of anemia in adolescent girls and its association with demographic variables in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Int J Life Sci Biotechnol Pharma Res. 2023;12(1):249-56. Available from:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375027412_An_epidemiological_study_of_prevalence_of_anemia_in_adolescent_girls_and_its_association_with_demographic_variables_in_Dehradun_Uttrakhand
Yadav P, Kumar A, Kansal S. Determinants of anemia among adolescent girls in rural Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences. 2023;11(8):2824-31. Available from OI:10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20232159
Gillespie B, Katageri G, Salam S, Ramadurg U, Patil S, Mhetri J, et al. Attention for and awareness of anemia in adolescents in Karnataka, India: A qualitative study. Plos one. 2023;18(4):e0283631. Available from : 10.1371/journal.pone.0283631
Bundy D, Shaeffer S, Jukes M, Beegle K, Gillespie A, Drake L, et al. Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. 2nd edition. Washington (DC): The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank; 2006. Chapter 58. School-based health and nutrition programs. PMID: 21250357. Available from: ID: NBK11783
Government of India. National Family Health Survey – 5. State Fact Sheet: Uttarakhand (2020-21) [Internet]. Mumbai: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. International Institute for Population Sciences. Available from: NFHS-5_Phase-II_0.pdf
World Health Organization. Regional Office for South-East Asia. (?2011)?. Prevention of iron deficiency anaemia in adolescents. WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia. Available from: https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/205656
Hlatshwayo BPS. The Association between iron deficiency anemia and academic performance of children focusing on grade II pupils in the Winterveldt region, Tshwane North, South Africa (Doctoral dissertation, University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus) 2011. Available from: http://ulspace.ul.ac.za/handle/10386/801
Kejo D, Petrucka P, Martin H, Mosha TCE, Kimanya ME. Efficacy of Different Doses of Multiple Micronutrient Powder on Haemoglobin Concentration in Children Aged 6-59 Months in Arusha District. Scientifica (Cairo). 2019;2019:8979456. DOI: 10.1155/2019/8979456. PMID: 30863659; PMCID: PMC6378028. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6378028/
Gore MN, Drozd ME, Patil RS. Anemia Prevalence and Socioeconomic Status among Adolescent Girls in Rural Western India: A Cross-Sectional Study. Ethiop J Health Sci. 2024;34(1):57-64. Available from: DOI: 10.4314/ejhs.v34i1.7
Sahoo J, Mohanty S, Gupta S, Panigrahi SK, Mohanty S, Prasad D, et al. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Iron Deficiency Anemia among the Tribal Residential Adolescent School Students of Odisha: A Cross-Sectional Study. Indian J Community Med. 2023;48(4):562-66. Available from: DOI: 10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_453_22
Singh A, Juneja K, Purwar N, Chauhan A, Tyagi N, Singh NP. A Comparative Study of Prevalence of Anemia and Its Risk Factors Among School-Going Adolescent Girls in the Field Practice Areas of Medical College in Gautam Buddha Nagar District. Asian J Pharm Clin Res. 2022;15(3):104-7 Available from: DOI:10.22159/ajpcr.2022.v15i3.44061
Government of India. Anemia Mukt Bharat. Intensified National Iron Plus Initiative (I-NIPI): Operational Guidelines for Programme Managers: New Delhi: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; 2018. 65 p. Available from: https://www.nhm.gov.in/images/pdf/Nutrition/AMB-guidelines/Anemia-Mukt-Bharat-Operational-Guidelines-FINAL.pdf (Accessed on Feb 06, 2024).
Nutrition and Food Safety. Nutritional Anemias: Tools for effective prevention and control. World Health Organization: Geneva, Switzerland. 2017:96 p. ISBN: 9789241513067. Available from: Nutritional anaemias: tools for effective prevention and control
Yadav K, Kant S, Ramaswamy G, Ahamed F, Jacob OM, Vyas H, et al. Validation of Point of Care Hemoglobin Estimation Among Pregnant Women Using Digital Hemoglobinometers (HemoCue 301 and HemoCue 201+) as Compared with Auto-Analyzer. Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus. 2020;36(2):342-48. Available from: DOI: 10.1007/s12288-019-01196-5
Mehta AC. Patterns of Decline in Enrolment & its Implications for Universal Secondary Education in India: An In-depth Analysis of U-DISE 2016-17 Data. Education for all in India. 2019. Available at: https://www.educationforallinindia.com/Enrolment_Declining_2019_ArunCMehta.pdf [Last accessed on Aug 26, 2024]
Majumder S. Socioeconomic status scales: Revised Kuppuswamy, BG Prasad, and Udai Pareekh's scale updated for 2021. J Family Med Prim Care. 2021;10(11):3964-67. Available from: DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_600_21
Parekh BJ, Khadilkar V. Pediatrician-Friendly IAP Growth Charts for Children Aged 0-18 Years. Indian Pediatr. 2020;57(11):997-998. Available from: President.pmd
Basu S, Basu S, Hazarika R, Parmar V. Prevalence of anemia among school going adolescents of Chandigarh. Indian Pediatr. 2005;42(6):593-97. Available from: Prevalence of anemia among school going adolescents of Chandigarh - PubMed
Rakesh PS, George LS, Joy TM, George S, Renjini BA, Beena KV. Anemia Among School Children in Ernakulam District, Kerala, India. Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus. 2019;35(1):114-18. Available from: DOI: 10.1007/s12288-018-1001-6
Verma K, Baniya GC. Prevalence, knowledge, and related factor of anemia among school-going adolescent girls in a remote area of western Rajasthan. J Family Med Prim Care. 2022;11(4):1474-1481. Available from: DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1372_21
Mishra SS, Upadhayay PS, Tewari P. Prevalence of anemia in rural areas children of Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh. Research Journal of Life Sciences, Bioinformatics, Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences. 2022; 80-89. Available from: DOI:10.26479/2022.0801.06
Kamble BD, Gunjan M, Sumit J, Singh SK, Jha D, Singh S. Prevalence of anaemia among school going adolescent girls attending Test, Treat and Talk (T-3) camp under Anaemia Mukt Bharat in Delhi. J Family Med Prim Care. 2021;10(2):898-903. Available from: DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1510_20
Sethi V, Yadav S, Agrawal S, Sareen N, Kathuria N, Mishra P, Kapoor J, Dureja S. Incidence of side-effects after weekly iron and folic acid consumption among school-going Indian adolescents. Indian Pediatrics. 2019 Jan;56:33-6. Available from: Incidence of Side-effects After Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Consumption Among School-going Indian Adolescents - PubMed
Joe W, Patel RN, Alambusha R, Kulkarni B, Yadav K, Sethi V. Coverage of iron and folic acid supplementation in India: progress under the Anemia Mukt Bharat strategy 2017-20. Health Policy Plan. 2022;37(5):597-606. Available from: DOI: 10.1093/heapol/czac015
Sharma J, Devanathan S, Sengupta A, Rajeshwari, PN. Assessing the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia and risk factors among children and women: A case study of rural Uttar Pradesh. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health. 2024; 26. 101545. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2024.101545
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Sheelendra Yadav, Rahul Negi, Surabhi Mishra, Ashok Kumar Srivastava
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
