A study to assess prevalence of anaemia among beneficiaries of Anaemia Mukt Bharat Campaign in Uttarakhand
Mahendra Singh, Surekha Kishore, Bhavna Jain, Neha Verma, Kanchan Gawande, Sanjeev Kishore, Pradeep Aggarwal, Shikhar Kishore Verma
Abstract
CONTEXT: Anaemia is defined as a decreased concentration of blood haemoglobin. It is one of the most common nutritional deficiency diseases observed globally affecting both developing and developed countries. AIMS: To find out the prevalence of anaemia among the beneficiaries of Anaemia Mukt Bharat and its association with age and gender. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Uttarakhand by AIIMS Rishikesh in a month-long campaign including 5,776 beneficiaries. Camps were organized at the hospital campus, schools, district hospitals, Community Health Centre (CHC), Primary Health Centre (PHC), subcentres (SC), Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), slum areas, adolescent health day celebration sites and Village Health and Nutrition Day (VHND) sites. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Data on age and gender along with haemoglobin level using HemoCue Haemoglobinometer was collected. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: value <0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: Out of 5,776 participants 53.2% were anaemic. Females (54.6%) were more anaemic than males (45.1%). 33.5% of pregnant females were found to be anaemic. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of anaemia was very high among the study participants. It shows that anaemia is a major public health problem so efforts should be taken to reduce the prevalence of anaemia and promote the health of an individual, community as well as the country.