Anemia and Iron Deficiency in Adolescent School Girls in Kavar Urban Area, Southern Iran

BACKGROUND: Anemia is one of the most common public health problems especially in developing countries. We investigated the prevalence of anemia, iron deficiency anemia and related risk factors in adolescent school girls in Kavar urban area in southern Iran. METHODS: A total of 363 adolescent school girls were evaluated by a cross sectional study. Socioeconomic, demographic and related risk factors were obtained by a questionnaire. Hematological parameters and serum iron indices were measured. RESULTS: There were 21 cases of anemia (5.8%), 31 (8.5%) iron deficiency and 6 (1.7%) iron deficiency anemia. Most of anemic girls (85.7%) had mild anemia. MCV, TIBC, age, and BMI had statistically significant relationship with hemoglobin. Only parasites infestation in the last three months had a 6.83 times more risk of anemia than those without this history (95% CI, 1.66-28.11). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency anemia in this study were substantially less than what reported in many other regions of Iran as well as other developing countries. It seems that related implemented strategies in the recent years have been successful. More especial attention to prevention of parasite infestation should be considered in this area.