Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xfwgj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-18T22:34:16.887Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Anaemia and vitamin A status among adolescent schoolboys in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Faruk Ahmed ,
Ataur Rahman ,
Adeba Nazma Noor ,
Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman  and
Robert Hughes
Faruk Ahmed*
Affiliation:
Nutrition Program–Division of International Health, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Public Health Building, Herston Road, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia
Ataur Rahman
Affiliation:
Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Adeba Nazma Noor
Affiliation:
Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman
Affiliation:
Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Robert Hughes
Affiliation:
Nutrition Program–Division of International Health, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Public Health Building, Herston Road, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia
*
*Corresponding author: Email f.ahmed@sph.uq.edu.au
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objectives

To investigate the prevalence of anaemia and subclinical vitamin A deficiency among adolescent schoolboys in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, and to identify factors related to anaemia and vitamin A status.

Design

A cross-sectional study.

Setting

Government high schools in Dhaka City, Bangladesh.

Subjects and methods

A total of 381 boys, aged 11–16 years, from 10 schools in Dhaka City participated in the study. Socio-economic, anthropometric and dietary data were collected. Haemoglobin and serum retinol (vitamin A) concentrations were determined.

Results

Seven per cent of the boys were anaemic and 22% had serum vitamin A levels below the adequate level of 1.05 μmol l−1, with only 1.5% having subclinical vitamin A deficiency (<0.70 μmol l−1). Food frequency data revealed poor dietary habits. Multiple regression analysis showed that age, body mass index (BMI), parents' occupation, serum vitamin A level and frequency of intakes of meat and fruit were significantly independently related to haemoglobin level. The overall F-ratio (13.1) was highly significant (P< 0.000) and the adjusted R2 was 0.192. For serum vitamin A, BMI, father's education, per capita expenditure on food, haemoglobin concentration and frequency of intake of vitamin A-rich fruit were found to be significantly independently related. The overall F-ratio (14.5) was highly significant (P< 0.000) and the adjusted R2 was 0.186.

Conclusion

The data show that adolescent schoolboys in Dhaka City have anaemia and inadequate vitamin A status, although the extent of the problems is lower than in other population groups in the country. Sociodemographic and dietary factors appear to have important relationships with anaemia and vitamin A status of these boys.

Keywords

Adolescent boysAnaemiaVitamin A deficiencyBody mass indexBangladesh
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , May 2006 , pp. 345 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2006

References

1UN Standing Committee on Nutrition. 5th Report of the World Nutrition Situation. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2004.Google Scholar
2Brabin, L, Brabin, BJ. The cost of successful adolescent growth and development in girls in relation to iron and vitamin A status. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1992; 55: 955–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Nelson, M. Anaemia among adolescent girls: effects on cognitive function and activity. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 1996; 55: 359–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4Halterman, JS, Kaczorowski, JM, Aligne, A, Auinger, P, Szilagyi, PG. Iron deficiency and cognitive achievement among school aged children and adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics 2001; 107: 1381–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Walker, SP, Grantham-McGregor, S, Himes, JH, Williams, S. Adolescent Kingston girls' school achievement: nutrition, health and social factors. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 1996; 55: 333–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Sommer, A, Tarwotjo, I, Djunaedi, E, West, KP Jr, Loeden, AA, Tilden, R. Impact of vitamin A supplementation on childhood mortality – a randomized controlled community trial. Lancet 1986; ii: 1169–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7World Health Organization (WHO). Indicators for Assessing Vitamin A Deficiency and Their Application in Monitoring and Evaluating Intervention Programmes. WHO/NUT/96.10. Geneva: WHO, 1996.Google Scholar
8Mejia, LA, Chew, F. Hematological effect of supplementing anemic children with vitamin A alone and in combination with iron. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1988; 48: 595–600.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Institute of Nutrition and Food Science (INFS). Nutrition Survey of Rural Bangladesh, 1981–82. Dhaka: INFS, University of Dhaka, 1983.Google Scholar
10Helen Keller International (HKI)/Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN). Bangladesh Nutritional Blindness Study, 1982–83. Dhaka: HKI/IPHN, 1985.Google Scholar
11 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Statistical Year Book of Bangladesh Dhaka Statistics Division, Ministry of Planning. Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, 1998.Google Scholar
12Dreizen, S, Spirakis, CN, Stone, RE. A comparison of skeletal growth and maturation in undernourished and well-nourished girls before and after menarche. Journal of Pediatrics 1967; 70: 256–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Rees, JM, Christine, MT. Nutritional influences on physical growth and behaviour in adolescence. In: Adams, G, ed. Biology of Adolescent Behaviour and Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1989; 139–62.Google Scholar
14Eveleth, PB, Tanner, JM. Worldwide Variation in Human Growth. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.Google Scholar
15Ahmed, F, Khan, MR, Karim, R, Taj, S, Hyderi, T, Faruque, MO. Serum retinol and biochemical measures of iron status in adolescent school girls in urban Bangladesh. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1996; 50: 346–51.Google ScholarPubMed
16Ahmed, F, Khan, MR, Islam, M, Kabir, I, Fuch, G. Anaemia and iron deficiency among adolescent school girls in peri-urban Bangladesh. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000; 54: 678–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Ahmed, F, Hasan, N, Kabir, Y. Vitamin A deficiency among adolescent female garment factory workers in Bangladesh. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1997; 51: 698–702.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18Ahmed, F, Zareen, M, Khan, MR, Banu, CP, Huq, N, Jackson, AA. Dietary pattern, nutrient intake, and growth of adolescent school girls in urban Bangladesh. Public Health Nutrition 1998; 1: 83–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19Shahabuddin, AK, Talukder, K, Talukder, MK, Hasan, M, Seal, A, Rahman, MA, et al. Adolescent nutrition in a rural community in Bangladesh. Indian Journal of Pediatrics 2000; 67: 93–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics. CDC Growth Chart: United States [online], 2005. Available at http:www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhanes/growthcharts/datlies.htm. Accessed 21 06 2005.Google Scholar
21World Health Organization (WHO). Physical Status: The Use and Interpretation of Anthropometry. WHO Technical Report Series No. 854. Geneva: WHO, 1995.Google Scholar
22Bieri, JG, Tolliver, TJ, Catignanai, GL. Simultaneous determination of α-tocopherol and retinol in plasma and red cells by high pressure liquid chromatography. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1979; 32: 2143–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children's Fund/United Nations University. Iron Deficiency Anaemia, Assessment, Prevention and Control: A Guide for Programme Managers. WHO/NHD/01.3. Geneva: WHO, 2001.Google Scholar
24Whitney, EN, Cataldo, CB, Rolfes, SR. The trace minerals Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition, 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2002; 428–62.Google Scholar
25Filteau, SM, Tomkins, AM. Micronutrients and tropical infections. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 1994; 88: 1–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26Ahmed, F, Darnton-Hill, I. Vitamin A deficiency. In: Gibney, MJ, Margetts, BM, Kearney, JM, Arab, L, eds. Public Health Nutrition. London: Blackwell Publishing Company, 2004; 192–215.Google Scholar
27Ahmed, F, Mohiduzzaman, M, Barua, S, Shaheen, N, Margetts, BM, Jackson, AA. Effect of family size and income on the biochemical indices of urban school children of Bangladesh. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1992; 46: 465–73.Google ScholarPubMed
28Helen Keller International (HKI)/Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN)/Institute of Nutrition and Food Science (INFS) (1999) Vitamin A status throughout the lifecycle in rural Bangladesh. In: National Vitamin A Survey, 1997–98. Dhaka: HKI/IPHN/INFS, 1999.Google Scholar
29Ahmed, FM, Barua, S, Mohiduzzaman, M, Shaheen, N, Bhuyan, MAH, Margetts, BM, et al. Interaction between growth and nutrient status in school-age children of urban Bangladesh. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1993; 58: 334–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30Mejia, LA. Role of vitamin A in iron deficiency anaemia. In: Fomon, SJ, Zlotkin, S, eds. Nutritional Anaemias. Nestle Nutrition Workshop Series, Volume 30. Vevey/New York: Nestle Ltd/Raven Press, 1992, 93–101.Google Scholar
31Munoz, EC, Rosado, JL, Lopez, P, Furr, HC, Allen, LH. Iron and zinc supplementation improves indicators of vitamin A status of Mexican preschoolers. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000; 71: 789–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed