TY - JOUR AU - Gupta, Sujata AU - Taneja, Neha AU - Chellaiyan, Vinoth Gnana AU - Liaqathali, Fasna PY - 2019/06/30 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Comparison of Health status among married and unmarried girls of late adolescent age in an urban slum of Delhi JF - Indian Journal of Community Health JA - Indian J Community Health VL - 31 IS - 2 SE - Original Article DO - 10.47203/IJCH.2019.v31i02.006 UR - https://www.iapsmupuk.org/journal/index.php/IJCH/article/view/1108 SP - 185 - 192 AB - <p><strong>Background:</strong> 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. <strong>Aims &amp; Objectives</strong>: 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. <strong>Material &amp; Methods</strong>: 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. <strong>Results: </strong>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. <strong>Conclusion</strong>: Early marriage was found to have impact on menstruation, reproductive health and nutritional status of adolescent girls.</p> ER -