Abstract
Background: Anemia is a major health problem throughout the world, among teenagers it is considered as a critical global health problem. Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia besides exploring the associated risk factors among the selected subjects. Methodology: It is a community-based cross-sectional survey that was carried out in Najran city during the period from April 2018 to December 2018. By adopting a convenient sampling technique, 240 subjects that aged 13-19 years old had been recruited to participate. Additionally, a blood sample was taken and analyzed for hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, iron and ferritin levels. Results: The mean age of the study sample was 14.1 (+/- 3.4). The overall prevalence of anemia among teenagers in Najran was 22.5% with mean Hb value of 9.4 (+/- 1.36) g/dl, MCV mean value of 68 (+/- 9.11) fl and serum iron mean value of 13.7 (+/- 6.5) U/L. Among anemic subjects 3 (5.6%), 17 (31.5%) and 34 (63%) had severe, moderate and mild anemia respectively. More than 68% (n=164) of them don't consume red meat frequently and was not significantly associated with anemia (p>0.05). Additionally, frequent eating of vegetables, frequent eating of white meat and drinking tea or coffee were also found not to be significantly associated with anemia (OR=1.19, 0.83-1.73; OR=0.72, 0.47-1.12, and OR=1.32, 0.89-1.98) with p>0.05 respectively. Conclusion: Anemia is a moderate health problem in the current study area. Interventional health education programs should be conducted in schools, universities or at youth clubs to highlight the risk factors of anemia as well as to encourage the intake of miscellaneous diets which include iron-rich foods and fruits that contain vitamin C that enhances iron absorption.