Temporal evolution of and factors associated with anemia among women of reproductive age in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil

Anemia is one of the oldest recorded health disorders in history of humanity and still imposes itself as a challenge for collective health in the current world, affecting mainly children, pregnant women and non-pregnant women of reproductive health. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to analyze the temporal evolution of and  factors  associated  with  anemia  among  women  at  reproductive  age  in  the  state  of Pernambuco,  Brazil  in  1997  and  2006.  Material and methods: it  included  1.123  (1997)  and  1.476  (2006)  women aged  from  10  to  49  years  old.  Poisson  regression  was  used  to  assess  associations  between anemia and the explanatory variables. The prevalence of anemia in Pernambuco was reduced from 18.7% (1997) to 16.1% (2006), that is, a decline of 13.9%. In contrast, the metropolitan region  of  Recife  (MRR)  showed  an  increase  of  6.4%,  with  higher  prevalence  in  the  urban inland  and  the  rural  area.  Adjusted  prevalence  ratios  showed  that  only  MRR,  number  of  people  per  household  ≥ eight,  and  having  no  or  one  domestic  good  were  kept  in  the  final model.  The conclusion  is  that  anemia  among  women  has  decreased  in  Pernambuco  and  in most  socio-economic  and  biological  categories,  showing  a  change  of  the  situation  and favoring groups who experience adverse life conditions.