Vijayalakshmi TN¹
Vishnupriya K²
Suguna S³
Ravi S⁴

¹Associate Professor,
²Post Graduate,
³Assistant Professor,
Department of Physiology
⁴Professor and Head
Department of Pathology,
Chengalpattu Medical College
and Hospital,
Chengalpattu – 603001,
Tamilnadu, India

Abstract

• Background: Anaemia affects nearly 1.62 billion people globally. In India, 53.2% of non-pregnant women and 50.4% ofpregnant women were found to be anaemic as per the National Family Health Survey 2016. Young females require micronutrients in appropriate amount for effective erythropoiesis. Further, it is also necessary for physique of individual. Physique can be estimated by Body mass index. College going female students of 18 to 22 years are prone for certain lifestyle modifications, changes in dietary habits, screen time, sleep time commonly influenced by peer group.
• Aim: The present study was planned to assess the prevalence of anaemia in female students in an arts college and correlate it with BMI.
• Materials and Methods: In an arts college in chengalpattu, a Cross sectional studywas done with written informed consent on 440 female students after IEC approval. 18 to 22 years female students were included and students- suffering from any acute/chronic illness, not willingto participate were excluded. A basic questionnaire regarding socio-demographic profile and medical history was collected. Anthropometric measurements were recorded and BMI calculated. Haemoglobin in g/dl was estimated by Cyan meth Haemoglobin method. WHO Criteria for anaemia was used for detecting grades of anaemia in them. Parameters were analysed using SPSS 21.0 version.
• Results: 61.81% students were anaemic. 40.9% – underweight, 39.09% – normal BMI and 20% – obese. Significant association between haemoglobin and BMI was obtained. (x2- 16.02, p value – 0.0003).
• Conclusion: College going female students are vulnerable for anaemia because of faulty life style habits in present era.

Keywords: anaemia, body mass index