A Descriptive Study on the Prevalence of Anemia and Its Associated Sociodemographic Factors among Pregnant Females Attending Primary Health Center in Hisar District, Haryana

Abstract

Context: Anemia is one of the major public health issues in the world. India carries the highest burden of disease, especially in pregnant and lactating mothers. The predisposing factors include grand multiparity, low socioeconomic status, living conditions, diet, maternal infection, late prenatal care affecting the maternal and neonatal health. It has detrimental effects on maternal and child health. Aim and Objective: To estimate the prevalence of anemia among pregnant females attending the Primary Health Centre, Agroha and to determine sociodemographic risk factors associated with anemia in pregnancy. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 270 pregnant females of rural background visiting Primary Health Center of District Hisar. Materials and Methods: All the data comprising of sociodemographic profile was gathered using a predesigned and pretested pro forma. Socioeconomic status was evaluated using the Modified B.G. Prasad Scale. Hemoglobin estimation was done using Sahli’s acid hematin method. The cutoff for Hb level was taken from standard guidelines. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were first entered in Microsoft Excel 10 and then was further exported to the PASW Statistics for Windows version 18.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago). Association between two or more variables was determined by the Chi-square test and Fisher’s test. Degree of relationship among variables was determined by correlation coefficient. Results: The overall prevalence of anemia came out to be 70% among pregnant females, out of which 37.4% were mild anemic followed by 31.9% as moderate and 0.7 as severe anemic. Conclusions: This study showed that although preventable, anemia is still prevalent in our society it remains a major risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality.