Objectives No data exists for nutritional status of female
adolescent school dropouts despite one in seven
adolescent girls in Sri Lanka being an early school leaver.
The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status
of working and non-working female adolescent school
dropouts.
Methods A cross-sectional design was used to recruit
613 female adolescent school dropouts, aged 15-19
years, in two districts of the Western Province of Sri Lanka.
BMI was calculated by assessment of weight and height.
Haemoglobin, serum ferritin, serum folic acid, vitamin
B12, and serum zinc were measured.
Results When girls were grouped into age specific BMI
categories, 32.8% of girls were underweight, while 6.1%
were overweight. Prevalence of anaemia (haemoglobin
<120 g/l) in the study population was 17 %. Low iron
status (serum ferritin <20 μg/l) was noted in 29.4 % of
girls, low serum folate in 28% (folic acid <3 μg/l) and zinc
deficiency in 28.8% (zinc <66 μg/dl). Regression
modeling indicated that dropping out of school early (at
<14 years of age) was a significant risk factor for low
serum ferritin (p=0.001, odds ratio=2.1). Working
adolescents were at greater risk of low micronutrient
status: low serum ferritin (p=0.009; odds ratio=1.8)
serum folic acid (p=0.006; odds ratio=1.9) and zinc
deficiency (p=0.001; odds ratio=2.1) than non-working
adolescents.