Anemia among adolescents.

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of anemia in a group of apparently healthy school adolescents selected from 2 distinct socio-economic areas (SEAs) in Baghdad; and to assess the importance of diet and some other factors which could be relevant in the epidemiology of anemia in adolescents. METHODS A random sample of 1051 adolescents were included in the present study, 46% of them (487 adolescents) were from Al-Mansoor area for high socio-economic area (HSEA) and 54% of them (564 adolescents) were from Al-Horya area for low socio-economic area (LSEA) in Baghdad, Iraq. Collection of data was carried out during the period between November 1996 until the end of April 1997. Hemoglobin concentration and packed cell volume levels were determined. Dietary intake of iron, calories, protein and Vitamin C were estimated. RESULTS The prevalence of anemia among adolescents in HSEA was 12.9% compared with 17.6% in LSEA. Hemoglobin concentration in males was significantly correlated with age and dietary iron intake while in females it was correlated significantly with years of education of father and mother, number of pads and age at menarche. CONCLUSIONS Anemia among adolescents was found to be a health problem of moderate severity.