Nutritional status of adolescent girls from an urban slum area in South India

Abstract Menstrual health is one of the major areas of concern in reproductive health, and affects a large number of women throughout their reproductive life from adolescence. Menstruation is a biological phenomenon imbued with social-cultural, nutritional and personal significance. The present study aims to focus on the menstrual characteristics and its association with socio-demographic factors and nutritional status among the urban slum adolescent girls of North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. This community-based study was conducted among a group of 90 Bengali speaking Hindu adolescent girls aged between 16 to 18 years. A pre-tested structured schedule was used to collect detailed information about the socio-economic conditions and menstrual characteristics. All anthropometric measurements were taken using the standard procedures. Results of the study revealed that underweight girls attained menarche comparatively in later age (12.67±1.23) than that of healthy and overweight girls. Mean length of the menstrual cycle, mean duration of menstrual bleeding and mean number of days of peak discharge were maximum among the girls whose BMI was below 5th percentile, i.e. underweight. Majority of the underweight (75%) and healthy (50%) girls experienced heavy discharge during their menstrual days. Disorders like premenstrual syndrome (PMS) (78.8%) and dysmenorrhea (85.5%) were the major prevalent menstrual problems among these girls and occurrence of the symptoms of these disorders significantly varied based on their BMI. A highly significant difference (p<0.01) was found among underweight, healthy and overweight girls in terms of duration of menstrual bleeding, mean number of days of peak discharge and occurrences of PMS. Result of linear regression and step wise logistic regression (backward elimination) shows that various socio-economic and anthropometric variables are the influential predictors of menstrual characteristics like duration of menstrual discharge, cycle length, days of peak discharge as well as menstrual problems like cycle irregularity and heavy flow (p<0.05). Therefore, the present study unwraps a podium to focus on the menstrual health issues of the adolescent girls and enforce health education as well as instigates nutritional intervention programme to fortify the existing menstrual health status.

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Nutritional Status of Women Dwelling in Urban Slum Area

Journal of Nutritional Health & Food Engineering ◽

10.15406/jnhfe.2014.01.00014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Md Monoarul Haque

Keyword(s):

Nutritional Status ◽

Urban Slum ◽

Slum Area ◽

Status Of Women

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Study of sociodemographic factors and their relationship with the morbidity among adolescent girls of Pune slum area

International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences ◽

10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20191624 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 1399

Author(s):

Neha Joshi ◽

Manoj Kumar ◽

Kunal Chatterjee

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Research Work ◽

Urban Slum ◽

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

Severe Anaemia ◽

Age Group ◽

Slum Area ◽

Class Iii ◽

Cross Sectional

Background: Socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, and education can influence health and nutritional outcomes, especially in adolescent girls. Aims and objectives of research work was to study of sociodemographic factors and their relationship with the morbidity among adolescent girls residing in slum areas of Pune region.Methods: A cross-sectional study of the urban slum population from October 2011 to September 2012. Adolescent girls of the age group 10-19 years who gave consent and are living in a slum area for more than 6 months were enrolled. Information on health status including morbidity was collected by health examination.Results: Majority of the adolescent girls (54.02%) had to age between 14-16 years. Majority of the adolescent girls (96.4%) were studying and were underweight (41.07%; of which majority 59.78% were in the age group 14-16years). Out of the 41.07% underweight girls, the majority (84.78%) had anaemia (p<0.05). A total 26.34% study subjects were stunted and 12.95% were thin (for both, commonly reported in the age group of 14-16 years). Majority of the girls (48.2%) belonged to class III SES. In class III socioeconomic status group mild, moderate and severe anaemia was reported in 50.45%, 41.51%, and 36.36% cases, respectively.Conclusions: Among the studied sociodemographic factors lower socioeconomic status and overcrowding had an impact on the morbidities. However, we noted a significant impact of morbidity in underweight girls.

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