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Anaemia and vitamin A status among adolescent schoolboys in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Faruk Ahmed ,
Ataur Rahman ,
Adeba Nazma Noor ,
Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman  and
Robert Hughes
Faruk Ahmed*
Affiliation:
Nutrition Program–Division of International Health, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Public Health Building, Herston Road, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia
Ataur Rahman
Affiliation:
Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Adeba Nazma Noor
Affiliation:
Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman
Affiliation:
Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Robert Hughes
Affiliation:
Nutrition Program–Division of International Health, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Public Health Building, Herston Road, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Objectives

To investigate the prevalence of anaemia and subclinical vitamin A deficiency among adolescent schoolboys in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, and to identify factors related to anaemia and vitamin A status.

Design

A cross-sectional study.

Setting

Government high schools in Dhaka City, Bangladesh.

Subjects and methods

A total of 381 boys, aged 11–16 years, from 10 schools in Dhaka City participated in the study. Socio-economic, anthropometric and dietary data were collected. Haemoglobin and serum retinol (vitamin A) concentrations were determined.

Results

Seven per cent of the boys were anaemic and 22% had serum vitamin A levels below the adequate level of 1.05 μmol l−1, with only 1.5% having subclinical vitamin A deficiency (<0.70 μmol l−1). Food frequency data revealed poor dietary habits. Multiple regression analysis showed that age, body mass index (BMI), parents' occupation, serum vitamin A level and frequency of intakes of meat and fruit were significantly independently related to haemoglobin level. The overall F-ratio (13.1) was highly significant (P< 0.000) and the adjusted R2 was 0.192. For serum vitamin A, BMI, father's education, per capita expenditure on food, haemoglobin concentration and frequency of intake of vitamin A-rich fruit were found to be significantly independently related. The overall F-ratio (14.5) was highly significant (P< 0.000) and the adjusted R2 was 0.186.

Conclusion

The data show that adolescent schoolboys in Dhaka City have anaemia and inadequate vitamin A status, although the extent of the problems is lower than in other population groups in the country. Sociodemographic and dietary factors appear to have important relationships with anaemia and vitamin A status of these boys.

Keywords

Adolescent boysAnaemiaVitamin A deficiencyBody mass indexBangladesh
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , May 2006 , pp. 345 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2006

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