Prevalence of anaemia and associated factors among adolescent girls in public secondary schools in Kamuli District, Uganda

Abstract

Introduction: Anaemia remains one of the critical public health concerns among adolescent girls in developing countries as they are more predisposed to anaemia possibly as a result of inadequate intake of iron-rich foods, poor dietary diversity, increased infections, malaria, menstruation and improper deworming. The study was aimed at determining the prevalence of anaemia and its associated factors among adolescent girls aged 13-19 years in public secondary schools in Kamuli district, Eastern region, Uganda. Objective: The study assessed the prevalence of anaemia and its associated factors among adolescent girls aged 13-19 years in public secondary schools in Kamuli district. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted between February and March 2022 in Kamuli district, Eastern region in Uganda. I recruited 365 adolescent girls aged 13-19 years from five (5) public schools in Kamuli district, the adolescent girls were selected using systematic random sampling and anaemia was assessed by using hemocues, data on independent variables like dietrelated factors, malaria, health and care practices, food security factors and socio-demographics and knowledge of anaemia was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. However, malaria was determined with use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTS). Data was analyzed using STATA version 8.0. The Prevalence of anaemia was determined as proportion and associated factors were determined using Modified poison regression model to determine the prevalence ratios at 95% confidence interval at a p-value ˂0.05. Results: The results of the study showed that anaemia (26.8%) is a serious health problem of concern among adolescent girls in public schools of Kamuli district, where 1 (0.3%) had severe anaemia, 10(2.7%) had moderate anaemia and 87 (23.8%) had mild anaemia. Malaria illness with an adjusted prevalence risk ratio (APR) at (95%CI) 0.65(0.43-0.99) consumption of iron rich foods APR (95%CI 0.41(0.28-0.59), and religion APR (95%CI) 0.62(0.40-0.95) were found to have an association with anaemia among these adolescent schoolgirls at multivariate analysis after controlling for confounding. Conclusions: There is a significant relationship between anaemia and low iron consumption, malaria, and religion among adolescent girls, advocacy and strengthening supplementation of folic acid and iron can reduce anaemia in this age group.