Anaemia among Female Undergraduates Residing in the Hostels of University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Anaemia is a major public health problem that has affected around 25% of the world’s population. An analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 313 female undergraduates residing in hostels of University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, during year 2011. Objective of this study was to determine prevalence and contributing factors to anaemia among the study population. Haemoglobin concentration was assayed using cyanomethaemoglobin method. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to retrieve information regarding dietary habits and personal factors of participants. Descriptive statistical methods, chi-square test, and independent sample t-test were used to analyze data. Of the 302 females, 17.5% (n=53) had mild anaemia and 7.9% (n=24) had moderate anaemia. Severely anaemic individuals were not observed. Participants’ dietary habits and personal factors were not significantly associated with prevalence of anaemia (whether a participant is a vegetarian or not (P=0.525), drinking tea within one hour of a meal (P=0.775), frequency of consumption of red meat, fish, and eggs (P=0.499), antihelminthic treatment within past year (P=0.792), and menorrhagia (P=0.560)). Anaemia in the study population is below the average for Sri Lankan data. Diet and selected medical conditions were not a causative factor for anaemia in this population.