. Somayyeh Asghari; . Rasoul Mohammadzadegan-Tabrizi; . Maryam Rafraf; . Parvin Sarbakhsh; . Javad Babaie
Volume 10, Issue 12 , December 2020, , Pages 1-6
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Dried Urmia Lake in the northwest of Iran is a major regional source of sodiumand toxic metal aerosols which may cause numerous health problems. The aim of this study was ...
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BACKGROUND: Dried Urmia Lake in the northwest of Iran is a major regional source of sodiumand toxic metal aerosols which may cause numerous health problems. The aim of this study was toevaluate iron‑deficiency anemia (IDA) and some related risk factors among women of reproductiveage in the suburb of dried Urmia Lake to provide the information about the problem to the health‑careproviders.METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was conducted on 278 healthy nonpregnant, nonlactatingwomen aged 18–45 years, living in the rural area of the Salmas city, closest to the Urmia Lake betweenFebruary and June 2017. The study participants were selected using a stratified random samplingmethod with proportional allocation from seven villages. A general questionnaire was completed foreach participant to collect sociodemographic information and a 3‑day dietary recall questionnaireto obtain daily dietary intakes. IDA was defined as a hemoglobin (Hb) level of <12 g/dl and ferritinconcentration of <15 μg/l. Spearman’s correlation coefficient and Fisher’s exact test were applied todetermine sociodemographic factors associated with the serum Hb and ferritin levels.RESULTS: The prevalence of overall anemia (Hb <12 g/dl) was 7.9%. IDA was determined in 4.3%and iron deficiency (ID) in 19.1% (serum ferritin <15 μg/l) of the participants. There was a significantpositive correlation between serum Hb concentrations and the mean daily intakes of protein andiron (P < 0.001). Similarly, a significant positive correlation was observed between serum ferritinlevels and body mass index (P < 0.001). Significant inverse associations were found between Hbconcentrations and the number of pregnancies and children (P < 0.001), as well as the number offamily members (P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated a mild prevalence of IDA and a relatively high rate of ID amongstudied participants. Educational programs are needed to improve nutritional habits as well as theuse of contraceptives to promote women’s health.
