Anaemia among adults in Kassala, Eastern Sudan

Abstract

Abstract Background The increased heterogeneity in the distribution of social and biological risk factors makes the epidemiology of anaemia a real challenge. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Kassala, Eastern Sudan during the period of January — March 2011 to investigate the prevalence and predictors of anaemia among adults (> 15 years old). Findings Out of 646, 234 (36.2%) adults had anaemia; 68 (10.5%); 129 (20.0%) and 37 (5.7%) had mild, moderate and severe anaemia, respectively. In logistic regression analyses, age (OR = 1.0, CI = 0.9–1, P = 0.7), rural vs. urban residency (OR = 0.9, CI = 0.7–1.3, P = 0.9), female vs. male gender (OR = 0.8, CI = 0.6–1.1, P = 0.3), educational level ≥ secondary level vs. P = 0.8) and Hudandawa vs. non-Hudandawa ethnicity (OR = 0.8, CI = 0.6–1, P = 0.1) were not associated with anaemia. Conclusion There was a high prevalence of anaemia in this setting, anaemia affected adults regardless to their age, sex and educational level. Therefore, anaemia is needed to be screened for routinely and supplements have to be employed in this setting.