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Socioeconomic Determinants of Iron-Deficiency Anemia among Children Aged 6 to 59 Months in India
Authors: Bharati, S.; Pal, M.; Chakrabarty, S.; and Bharati, P.
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 27(2): NP1432-NP1443; DOI: 10.1177/1010539513491417
Topic(s): Anemia
Child health
Children under five
Inequality
Iron supplements
Nutrition
Country: Asia
  India
Published: MAR 2015
Abstract: The extent of anemia and its socioeconomic determinants among the preschool children (6-59 months old) in India have been studied in this article. Relevant data are taken from the third round of the National Family Health Survey. The initial analysis reveals some interesting features. The most affected children are in the age-group of 6 to 23 months. Beyond this age a decreasing trend is observed up to the age of 48 to 59 months. The highest and the lowest prevalence of anemia have been found to be in the central and the northeast zones, respectively. The vulnerable groups are the children of illiterate parents and those belonging to the poor families in the rural areas. Categorical logistic regression also confirms that status of literacy and wealth of parents have strong negative association with the status of anemia of the children. Keywords: anemia; child health; India; inequalities in health; public health nutrition