Prevalence and Determinants of Anemia Among Adolescent Girls: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study in a Rural Field Practice Area of a Tertiary Hospital, India

Background Anemia is a major public health challenge among adolescent girls, particularly in rural India, where nutritional deficiencies, menstrual morbidities, and limited access to preventive services converge. Despite several national-level initiatives aimed at improving adolescent nutritional health, prevalence remains high. Objectives This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and severity of anemia and identify its determinants among adolescent girls aged 10-19 years in a rural community of Nagpur, India. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted over one year (December 2014-November 2015) among 600 adolescent girls selected via systematic random sampling at Narendra Kumar Prasadrao (NKP) Salve Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, Nagpur, Maharashtra. Data were collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire and included sociodemographic factors, menstrual history, anthropometry, and hemoglobin estimation via Sahli's method. Anemia was classified using World Health Organization guidelines. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results The overall prevalence of anemia was 80% (95% confidence interval (CI): 76.8-83.2%), with 60% mild, 30% moderate, and 10% severe cases. Significant associations were observed between anemia severity and both age (p < 0.001) and menstrual morbidities (p < 0.001), whereas the body mass index showed no significant correlation (p = 0.553). Older adolescents and those with menstrual morbidities exhibited higher anemia severity. Conclusion Anemia among rural adolescent girls is alarmingly high and closely linked to reproductive and sociodemographic factors. Interventions must extend beyond iron supplementation to include menstrual health education, maternal literacy promotion, and routine community-based screening.