Adolescent girls' health profile in sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal

OBJECTIVE(S): To compare the health profile of the adolescent urban schoolgirls and the underprivileged tea garden girls residing in the sub-Himalayan region. METHOD(S) : Seven hundred tea garden girls and 650 urban schoolgirls aged 12-20 years in the Siliguri area were surveyed by means of a preset questionnaire. Comparative analysis of the basic health profiles of these two different groups of girls living in the same ecozone was done. RESULTS : Forty-three percent of the tea garden girls attained their menarche at 12 years while 38.5% schoolgirls did so at 13 years. Nutritional deficiencies were widely prevalent among the tea garden girls and so were school drop-outs. Mild to moderate anemia was especially rampant. However most school girls were overweight or obese and 14.6% had their BMI >29. Awareness regarding sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and contraception was also substantially poor among the tea garden girls. CONCLUSION(S) : Poor adolescent girls' health needs to be improved with a goal to promote the future reproductive health of the society.