Comparative study on prevalence of anemia and menstrual health problems among urban and rural adolescent girls

Aim& Objective: This study was undertaken to know the prevalence of anemia and menstrual health problems in both urban and rural areas of Siddipet District. Methodology: It is comparative cross sectional study Results: In the present study, total mean hemoglobin of students is 10.95±4.43. In rural area, mean hemoglobin is 10.49±1.71 which is low compared to the mean hemoglobin levels of students in urban area 11.42±5.99. The contributing factors of anemia seen in this study are: low socioeconomic status, onset of menarche, nuclear families, vegetarian diet, religion and caste, birth order, body mass index, deworming, age of menarche and menstrual cycle length. Some students experienced symptoms like lack of concentration, headache, tiredness, lack of interest in studies, leg cramps, dizziness, shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat due to anemia. On examining the students, most of them were having palmar pallor, tongue pallor, nail pallor and conjunctival pallor. The adolescent girls are facing various menstrual health problems like abdominal pain, menorrhagea, polymenorrhoea etc. In this study, students who have heavy menstrual flow were prone to anemia. Knowledge and practices of students of urban area like frequency of changing pads and disposal of sanitary pads in dustbins were better than the students in rural area. While students in rural area were using sanitary pads more than the students in urban area Conclusion: The findings of the study can be used for planning programs, making new policies for improving the level of information especially, for rural adolescent girls. So, students should be educated regarding improvement of their nutrition, diet and exercise, hand washing, health seeking behavior and life style habits in order to build healthy nation.