Prevalence of anaemia among different physiological groups in the rural areas of Maharashtra

Introduction: Anaemia continues to be a major public health nutritional problem in India, and has adverse health and economic implications. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of anaemia among different physiological groups in the state of Maharashtra. Methodology: A community based cross-sectional study adopting multistage stratified random sampling procedure was carried out in rural Maharashtra. Information of socio-demographic particulars was collected with pretested questionnaire. A finger prick blood sample of 20 µL was collected from the subjects. Haemoglobin was estimated using cyanmethemoglobin method. Results: The overall prevalence of anaemia was 59%, 61%, 76% and 73% among pre-school children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk of anaemia was two times higher among pregnant and lactating women and among the subjects belonged to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities. Conclusion: Anaemia is a severe public health problem among pre-school children and women of different physiological groups in rural Maharashtra. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the existing national nutritional anaemia control programme and the community is encouraged to consume iron rich foods through health and nutrition education and information, education and communication (IEC) activities