Causes of Anaemia Among Reproductive Age Women: An Intervention Study in the Eastern Region of India

An attempt is made to understand the correlates of anaemia and examine the response to iron supplementation in some selected villages in West Bengal where anaemia among women is high. Estimates are derived by cyanmethemoglobin method to determine correlates of anaemia. Changes in haemoglobin after oral iron supplementation among women were monitored. Relationships among the variables were analyzed using the SPSS version 14.0 software. Analysis of various micro-level factors demonstrate that women who suffer from severe to moderate anaemia differ considerably in terms of socio-economic, dietary and anthropometric measurements from women who experience moderate to normal levels of anaemia. The lowest haemoglobin level was noticed among the <30 year old women. This is the child bearing and rearing period, making them more prone to anaemia. High rates of live births, heavy workload, poor diet and menstrual disorder are probably responsible for this anaemic condition among women. Uniform improvement in haemoglobin concentration after iron supplementation was not found among women who were at different levels of anaemia before iron supplementation.