Association of Hemoglobin Concentration and Bmi With Academic Performance Among Adolescent Girls In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2017-12-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Adolescent girls are among the vulnerable groups affected by anemia. Anemia is associated to reduce physical growth, high frequency of morbidity, and low cognitive functions that in turn affects school performance.
This study assessed the association between blood hemoglobin concentration and anthropometric characteristic with academic performance of adolescent girls in selected junior high schools in Addis Ababa. A total of 292 adolescent girls age 14 were involved in the study. Socio-demographic and psychosocial characteristics, dietary intake, BMI, school performance, hemoglobin concentration of study participants were determined. Out of the total participants, 45.5% were in a family size of five or more, 208(71.2%) had a workload and 61(20.9%) had one parasite. The prevalence of low BMI (<18.5) was 56.5% and low hemoglobin concentration 57.5%. Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) showed that 15.4% low (<or= 3food groups), 45.2% medium (4-5food groups) and the rest 39.4% had high (>5food groups) out of the total participants. Bivariate correlation analysis was used to find any statistically significant association between dietary diversity, BMI and hemoglobin level. Among several variables studied, hemoglobin level [COR: 0.16, 95%CI (0.07, 0.22)], DDS [COR: 3.76, 95%CI (1.56, 9.04)], and BMI [COR: 0.04, 95%CI (0.01, 0.14) were significantly associated with academic performance. When these variables were entered into the regression model to obtain the Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR), hemoglobin concentration was found to be significantly associated with academic performance [AOR: 0.22, 95%(0.09,0.44)] with p<0.01.
Hemoglobin concentration is a factor that has significant association with the academic status of the study participants. Low hemoglobin concentration is highly prevalent in the country and may contribute to the anemia incidence in the present study adolescents. Therefore, nutritional interventions should be considered in the study area may contribute to reduction of anemia, and hence academic performance in adolescent girls.
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Keywords
Hemoglobin, Anthropometry, Adolescent Girls, Academic Performance, Addis Ababa