Comparison Between Urban and Rural of Anthropometry Indices in Women of Reproductive Age in Kano, Nigeria State

Recently, new indices have been developed for better prediction of health status. This study aimed to compare the new indices of anthropometric measurements of women of reproductive age (WRA) in urban and rural settings in Kano state. A cross sectional descriptive community-based study was performed in 240 WRA (15-49 years) in 4 randomly selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) in urban and rural settings each. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics. Anthropometric indices which include body adiposity index (BAI), abdominal volume index (AVI), Conicity index (CI), a body shaped index (ABSI), a body shaped index z score (ABSI z score), hip index (HI), body roundness index (BRI) and ponderal index (PI) were measured. Socio-demographic result shows that age, occupation and monthly income were found to be significantly associated between the urban and rural participants whereas education, number of children and pregnancy status were not significantly associated. Urban and rural participants had a significant association in BAI (p=0.006), AVI (p=0.010), HI (p=0.030), BRI (p=0.003) and PI (p=0.002). There were no significant association in CI (p=0.219), ABSI (p=0.498) and ABSI z score (p=0.680). Further investigation of these indices and their association with nutritional status and different diseases could assist in efforts to prevent unfavorable health conditions among women of reproductive health.