Prevalence of Anemia in Adolescent Girls attending Specific Schools of Kavrepalanchok, Nepal

INTRODUCTION: Adolescents comprise individuals in the age group 10 to 19 who are undergoing a period of gradual transition of growth and development. Adolescent girls are at high risk of anemia and malnutrition. This research has been aimed to find the prevalence of anemia in adolescent girls attending specific schools of Panchkhal municipality in Kavrepalanchowk in Nepal. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in one government and one private school of Panchkhal Municipality of Kavre district in adolescent girls of age 10 to 19 from December 2017 to April 2018 attending grade five till ten in the field practice area of a medical college. After ethical approval, anthropometric measurements of height, weight, and blood were taken for hemoglobin estimation. Descriptive analysis was done in Microsoft excel 2016. RESULTS: Out of 95 adolescent girls, fourteen (14.74%) adolescent girls were anemic. The mean age was 13.35±1.629 years, mean height and weight were 1.58m and 44.11kg, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a lower prevalence of anemia than reported by national data, but it is higher than that reported by developed countries. Anemia and undernutrition have long terms detrimental effects on adolescent girls, so health education and prevention is necessary.