Abstract:
Anemia is a significant health concern among adolescents, as the rapid growth and
development takes place in this stage. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence
of anaemia among adolescents in Sandilipay Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area of
Jaffna district. Socio-demographic information was collected with an interviewer
administrated questionnaire during household visits. Ethics review committee, Faculty
of Medicine, University of Jaffna gave the ethical approval for the study. Blood samples
were collected from 92 adolescents for the analysis of red blood cell indices by
cyanmethemoglobin method. Among the adolescents 54 were females (58.7%) with the
mean age of 18.07 (±0.8) years. The mean haemoglobin (Hb) concentration among
female adolescents was 12.05 (±1.8) g/dl (range 7.4 to 15.3 g/dl) and that of the male
adolescents was 15.69 (±1.4) g/dl (range 13.9 to 18.5 g/dl). Among the adolescents,
37% (n=20) were anaemic (Hb levels <11.9 g/dl) and all were females. Mean hematocrit
(HCT) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of the female adolescents were 36.4 (±4.1)
% and 80.8 (±9.8) fL, respectively. Among the female adolescents, 44% (n=24) had
HCT level below 36%, and 37% (n=20) had MCV below 80 fL. Both indicated the
prevalence of anemia. The prevalence of anemia among female adolescents in the
Sandilipay MOH area is in significant number and the type of anaemia needs to be
studied in detail.
