Assessment of anemia prevalence, predictors, contributing factors, and knowledge among Indigenous tribes in Tamil Nadu, India

Introduction:anemia is a significant public health issue worldwide, particularly among Indigenous populations, because of numerous nutritional, genetic, and socio-cultural reasons. Among the Malayali tribes of Tamil Nadu, India—a Scheduled Tribe with a history of consanguineous marriage and limited access to healthcare—there is a high burden of anemia, but little has been established about the issue. Method: community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 516 respondents. Hematological profiling and Semi-structured questionnaire was utilized to collect socio-demographic indicators, morbidity history and anemia specific knowledge. Binary logistic regression analysis and Chi-square tests were utilized to study associations between demographic factors and anemia. Results: the overall prevalence of anemia in the current study was 38%, and the prevalence proportion of severe anemia was 2.3%, moderate anemia was 22.5%, and mild anemia was 13.2%.Logistic regression analysis revealed significant odds of anemia in men (aOR=0.48, 95% CI: 0.32–0.71), unmarried persons (aOR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.12–0.88), students (aOR=3.46, 95% CI: 1.23–9.76), and household members (aOR=0.46, 95% CI: 0.27–0.80). Conclusion: compared to the other Indian tribal communities, the anemia prevalence in the Malayali tribe is lower but still a public health problem for the latter and others. Hematological profiling can aid in the diagnosis of conditions in tribal, remote environments where laboratory-based diagnostic capacity could be limited. Aside from education and participant age, socioeconomic and gendered work factors seemed to have the most influence on risk factors for anemia.