Impact of socioeconomic and health related factors on the iron status of adolescent girls from two boarding schools in Southern Benin.

UNLABELLED: To our knowledge, the impact of socioeconomic and health related factors on the iron status of adolescent girls has never been studied in Benin. OBJECTIVE: These factors were studied in 180 girls aged 12 to 17 years living in two boarding schools from South Benin. METHODS: Iron deficiency (ID) was defined as either serum ferritin (SF) 73 micromol/L or transferrin saturation < 20%. Socioeconomic and health related factors were obtained from each participant by mean of an interview using a standardized and pre-tested questionnaire. RESULTS: Almost half the participants reported some health problems in the last four months before the study, whereas more than 75% auto-medicated before going to the hospital. The majority of the girls believed themselves to be in good health, although only 16% could define the term 'anemia'. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that girls whose mother was a manual worker (P = .002), who came from a larger family (P = .0001), and who auto-medicated (P = .014), had a lower hemoglobin level, whereas girls who had started their menstruation (P = .008) had a lower SF level. In a logistic regression analysis, girls from a large family size and whose mother was a manual worker showed a higher risk of IDA (OR = 3.5; 95% CI = 1.1-2.5; P = .04; OR = 3.0; 95% CI = 1.2-2.2; P = .04 respectively). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that iron deficiency is related to the occupation of the mother, family size, auto-medication, and menstruation.