Prevalence of Iron-deficiency Anaemia among University Students in Noakhali Region, Bangladesh

Iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a common health problem in rural women and young children of Bangladesh. The university students usually take food from residential halls, and the food value of their diets is not always balanced. This cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia among the university students of Noakhali region, Bangladesh. Haemoglobin level of 300 randomly-selected students was measured calorimetrically, using Sahli's haemoglobinometer during October to December 2011. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS software for Windows (version 16) (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). In the study, 55.3% students were found anaemic, of whom 36.7% were male, and 63.3% were female. Students aged 20-22 years were more anaemic (43.4%) than other age-groups. Majority (51.3%) of male students showed their haemoglobin level in the range of 13-15 g/dL, followed by 26.0% and 21.3% with 10-12 g/dL and 16-18 g/dL respectively. Although 50.5% anaemic and 51.1% non-anaemic female students showed normal BMI--lower percentage than anaemic (60.7%) and non-anaemic (71.9%) male students, the underweight students were found more anaemic than the overweight and obese subjects. Regular breakfast-taking habit showed significant (p = 0.035, 95% CI 0.5-1.0) influence on IDA compared to non-regular breakfast takers. Consumption of meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or peanut butter regularly; junk food; multivitamins; and iron/iron-rich food showed insignificant (p = 0.097, 95% CI 0.5-1.1; p = 0.053, 95% CI 1.1-2.3; p = 0.148, 95% CI 0.6-1.2; and p = 0.487, 95% CI 0.7-1.4 respectively) role in provoking IDA. In the case of non-anaemic subjects, all of the above parameters were significant, except the junk food consumption (p = 0.342, 95% CI 0.5-1.2). Our study revealed that majority of university students, especially female, were anaemic that might be aggravated by food habit and lack of awareness. The results suggest that anaemia can be prevented by providing proper knowledge on the healthful diet, improved lifestyle, and harmful effect of anaemia to the students.