Burden and Determinants of Anemia in a Rural Population in South India: A Cross-Sectional Study
Table 2
Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics and associations with any-type anemia (mild, moderate, or severe) by sex for a sample of adults from rural Tamil Nadu, India.
Characteristic
Men (n = 341)
Women (n = 412)
n (%)
Crude OR, any-type anemia (95% CI)
n (%)
Crude OR, any-type anemia (95% CI)
Anemia status (Hb concentration)
Healthy (men/women: ≥130/≥120 g/L)
221 (64.8)
Ref
176 (42.7)
Ref
Mild anemia (men/women: 110-129/110-119 g/L)
75 (22.0)
NA
74 (18.0)
NA
Moderate anemia (80-109 g/L)
37(10.9)
NA
148 (35.9)
NA
Severe anemia (<80 g/L)
8 (2.3)
NA
14 (3.4)
NA
Family size
≤2
42 (12.3)
Ref
83 (20.1)
Ref
3-5
214 (62.8)
0.50 (0.3, 1.0)
239 (58.0)
0.7 (0.4, 1.2)
>5
85 (24.9)
0.40 (0.2, 0.9)
90 (21.8)
0.9 (0.5, 1.7)
Age categories
20-35
84 (24.6)
Ref
125 (30.3)
Ref
36-60
186 (54.5)
3.0 (1.5, 5.8)
220 (53.4)
1.08 (0.7, 1.7)
>60
71.0 (20.8)
8.4 (3.9, 18.0)
67 (16.3)
1.03 (0.6, 1.9)
BMI categories (kg/m2)
Normal weight (≥18.5 & <23)
139 (40.8)
Ref
162 (39.3)
Ref
Underweight (<18.5)
84 (24.6)
2.3 (1.3, 4.1)
85 (20.6)
1.1 (0.6, 1.8)
Overweight (≥23 & <25)
56 (16.4)
1.9 (1.0, 3.8)
62 (15.0)
0.9 (0.5, 1.7)
Obese (≥25)
62 (18.2)
1.4 (0.7, 2.7)
103 (25.0)
1.1 (0.7, 1.8)
Stunted (height for men/women: <150.5 cm/<139.1 cm)
14 (4.1)
1.6 (1.0, 2.5)
6 (1.5)
1.4 (0.3, 7.7)
Tobacco use (paan and/or smoking)
169 (49.6)
1.1 (0.7, 1.7)
128 (31.1)
0.5 (0.4, 0.7)
Education
Illiterate
174 (51.0)
Ref
315 (76.5)
Ref
Literate but did not complete primary school
94 (27.6)
0.7 (0.4, 1.3)
48 (11.7)
0.9 (0.5, 1.6)
Finished primary school
59 (17.3)
0.5 (0.3, 1.0)
46 (11.2)
0.7 (0.4, 1.3)
Finished secondary school
14 (4.1)
1.3 (0.4, 4.0)
3 (0.7)
1.5 (1.2, 1.9)
Primary occupation†
Subsistence/small-scale agriculture producer or labourer
211 (61.9)
Ref
314 (76.2)
Ref
Commercial agriculture producer
48 (14.1)
1.0 (0.5, 1.9)
27 (6.6)
0.5 (0.2, 1.1)
Entrepreneur, business employee, or civil servant
39 (11.4)
0.8 (0.4, 1.6)
25 (6.1)
1.7 (0.69, 4.2)
MGNREGA‡
4 (1.2)
3.2 (0.3, 35.8)
14 (3.4)
1.8 (0.5, 5.7)
Migrant labour
4 (11.7)
0.40 (0.2, 0.9)
32 (7.8)
0.9 (0.4, 1.9)
Wealth index (by tertile)
Low
108 (31.7)
Ref
200 (48.5)
Ref
Middle
112 (32.8)
0.7 (0.4, 1.2)
121 (29.4)
0.5 (0.3, 0.9)
High
121 (35.5)
0.6 (0.4, 1.1)
91 (22.1)
0.8 (0.5, 1.3)
Caste
Low
43 (12.6)
Ref
52 (12.6)
Ref
Middle
271 (79.4)
1.7 (0.8, 3.5)
315 (76.4)
0.8 (0.5, 1.5)
High
27 (7.9)
1.8 (1.1, 2.5)
45 (10.9)
1.4 (0.6, 3.3)
Religion
Hindu
327 (95.9)
Ref
386 (9.4)
Ref
Christian
4 (1.2)
0.6 (0.1, 5.8)
8 (1.9)
2.0 (0.4, 10.4)
Muslim
10 (2.9)
1.2 (0.3, 4.3)
18 (4.4)
0.4 (0.2, 1.2)
NA: not applicable, predictor perfectly predicts outcome; Ref: referent category. <0.2; <0.05; <0.01 . rimary occupation defined as the income- or livelihood-generating activity that takes up most amount of time. ‡Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act Scheme.