Assessment of micronutrient intake on the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women in a District of Northern India

Objective: This study was undertaken to assess the role of micronutrient intake on prevalence of anemia amongst pregnant women in Lucknow Utter Pradesh India Study design: cross-sectional study. Study area: Urban and rural areas of Lucknow. Study subjects: A total of 420 pregnant women of reproductive age group. Results: The overall prevalence of anemia was 73.1% among the pregnant women. Of these, the moderate anemia was found in 47.6% women, mild anemia was 43.6% and severe anemia was 8.8%.The prevalence of anemia was lower in married women as compared to divorced/widow women (RR=0.91, 95%CI=0.59- 1.42, p=0.73). The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the women who were in 4-6 months (OR=4.51, 95%CI=1.95-10.43, p

<0.0001) and more than 6 months (OR=12.14, 95%CI=4.77- 30.90, p><0.0001) of gestational age had highest odds of being anemic when compared to those who were in 1-3 months of gestational age, after controlling for socio-demographic, and BMI variables in the model. The illiterate women had higher risk of being anemic as compared to literates (OR=2.42, 95%CI=1.36- 4.30, p><0.0001) after controlling for socio-demographic, micronutrient intake and BMI variables in the model. Other factors studied, were not found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: The micronutrient intake was lower in the studied population and it was found to be significantly associated with problem of anemia amongst pregnant women>