Anaemia among non-pregnant women in rural Bangladesh

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and severity of anaemia among non-pregnant women in rural Bangladesh and describe its social distribution. Design: A cross-sectional study conducted in February-March 1996. Haemoglobin concentration was measured on a capillary blood sample by cyanmethaemoglobin method. The World Health Organization (WHO) classification was used to define anaemia. Setting: Twelve randomly selected villages in Fulbaria thana of Mymensingh district, about 110 km northwest of Dhaka city in Bangladesh. Subjects: A systematically selected sample of 179 non-pregnant apparently healthy women aged 15-45 years. Results: Anaemia was highly prevalent (73%; 95% CI 67-79%). Most of the women had mild (52%) or moderate (20%) anaemia, but a few of them suffered from severe anaemia (1%). Ascaris was common (39%) while hookworm was not (1%). The anaemia prevalence had no statistically significant association with age, parity or Ascaris infestation (P > 0.05). Women with less than I year of schooling, who were landless or who reported having an economic deficit in the household had significantly higher prevalence of anaemia (P < 0.05). There was a significantly increasing trend in anaemia prevalence with decreasing socioeconomic situation (SES). However anaemia was common in all social strata. Conclusions: Although the overall anaemia prevalence among non-pregnant rural women is high, only a few women suffer from severe anaemia. Women of all SES groups irrespective of their age and parity are affected by anaemia.