Introduction: Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the most common
nutritional deficiency in pregnant women. The study was conducted
to study the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in the
antenatal women of urban and rural areas and to identify some
risk factors of iron deficiency anaemia and its association with
IDA.
Material & Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in
urban and rural health training centres of a medical college in
Pune. The antenatal women were the study subjects. A total of 180
ANC cases were recruited and studies from both the field practice
area attending the outpatient clinics. Sociodemographic profile
was recorded & anaemia was assessed using recently done haemoglobin
reports in the present pregnancy. The study duration
was 6 months. GCP and ethical guidelines were followed as advised
for human studies.
Results: The prevalence of IDA in the study population was 66%.
(rural=81%, urban=51%). IDA prevalence was 54% in primigravida
and the prevalence increased as gravid status increased. Iron
deficiency anaemia was seen statistically significantly associated
with residence, illiteracy, type of diet, and gravida status of the
pregnant women.
Conclusion: IDA has strong relation with residence (urban/rural),
literacy level, social status, monthly income and dietary habits