Association between poverty and anaemia among mother-child pairs in India

The prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women in India continues to be high despite efforts to address the issue through iron-folic acid supplements under the national health program. It is estimated that about 50% of pregnant women, adolescent girls and children are anaemic. Anaemic women are at a significantly higher risk of morbidity, mortality, postpartum haemorrhage, and low birth outcomes, in addition to low birth weight and preterm birth of their babies due to poor intrauterine growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate anaemia among mother-child pairs - known as a double burden - in poor and non-poor households in India. The study uses data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The survey collects information on the haemoglobin levels in mothers and children. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the risk of anaemia in mother-child pairs among poor and non-poor households. Our survey found that, respectively, 57.1% and 58.7% of the mothers and children were suffering from anaemia; and the double burden was 36.8%. The double burden of anaemia was much higher among poor households (41.0%) as compared to the prevalence in non-poor households (33.1%). This pattern was observed across the background characteristics of the mothers, such as age, place of residence, education, caste, religion, Body Mass Index (BMI) and selected child factors. The adjusted odds for poor households, after controlling for significant background factors of the mothers and children, was found to 11% (OR:1.11, p-value:<0.001; 95%, CI:1.09-1.14) with higher odds of double burden as compared to non-poor households. The findings of the study point to the need for policies that are targeted at addressing the double burden of anaemia in poor households in India.