Determinants of anaemia among children aged under-five years in Meghalaya, India

Abstract

Childhood anaemia poses serious threats to public health and may impair growth, cardiac function and cognitive and physical development. It also causes increased susceptibility to infections. Statistical analysis was performed on the cross-sectional data of 2957 children from 2015-2016 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-IV), using binary logistic regression model, to assess the significance of some risk factors of child anemia. Anemia was diag-nosed by WHO cut-off points on hemoglobin level. The mean haemoglobin concentration was 114.19 g/dl (95% CI, 113.55-114.83) with the prevalence of child anaemia as 60.4% in Meghalaya. Of the 7 districts in Meghalaya (as per the seven-district classification used in NFHS-4), the highest prevalence was found in West Garo Hills (70.4 per cent), followed by Ri- Bhoi (67.7 per cent) and East Garo Hills (66.4 per cent) and the least prevalence was found in East Khasi Hills (45.6 per cent). The results of binary logistic risk factors showed higher likelihood of anaemia for lower age groups and higher birth orders (p <0.05).