Prevalence of anaemia among married women with recent birth history and high-risk fertility behaviour: secondary data analysis of the National Family Health Survey-India (2019–21)

Abstract

Objectives To describe the prevalence of anaemia among currently married women with high-risk fertility behaviour (HRFB) based on age, parity and birth spacing indicators.Design Cross-sectional study.Settings and participants Fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) was conducted in India (2019–2021) and included a nationally representative sample of 724, 115 women in the reproductive age group (15–49). Our analysis focused exclusively on married women who had given birth in the preceding 5 years.Primary and secondary outcome measures The prevalence of anaemia with HRFB was the primary outcome, and the likelihood of having anaemia due to HRFB was the secondary outcome.Data and methods Secondary data analysis of the NFHS-5 (2019–2021) datasets was done using a weighted analysis to determine anaemia prevalence in different HRFB categories. Bivariate analysis was done using the χ2 test, and multiple binary logistic regression analyses were done to estimate the odds of having anaemia due to HRFB after adjusting for known confounders. A p value <0.05 was reported as statistically significant.Results The final analysis comprised 145,468 women, of whom 59.1% had anaemia. About 53.1% of women depicted ‘No risk’ fertility behaviour, and 34.6% and 12.3% had single and multiple HRFB. Women with ‘no-risk,’ single and multiple HRFB had anaemia prevalence rates of 58.1%, 59.4% and 63.1%, respectively. Women with ‘Single risk’ had an 18% higher likelihood (1.18; 1.13–1.22) of having anaemia after controlling for confounding variables, compared with the HRFB category with ‘No risk.’ Women with ‘Multiple risks’ showed a 6% higher likelihood (adjusted OR 1.06; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.08).Conclusions Anaemia remains a prevalent issue in India, and HRFB is observed as a significant contributing factor. This vulnerable group can be targeted through multiple interventions and further our efforts to realise our anaemia-related goals.