Associations of Early Marriage and Early Childbearing with Anemia Among Adolescent Girls in Ethiopia: A Multilevel Analysis of Nationwide Survey
Abstract Background: Early marriage and early childbearing are common practices in Ethiopia. Girls who got married and give birth at a very young age are more likely to experience several health problems including anemia among others. However, the effects of early marriage and early childbearing on anemia status of adolescent girls have not been quantified in previous studies. In this study, we assessed whether early marriage and early childbearing measured at both individual and community levels are associated with adolescent anemia. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2016 demographic and health survey of Ethiopia. Our study concentrated on 3,172 late female adolescents (15-19 years). For bivariate analysis, we used the chi-squared test and spearman correlation coefficients. The relationship between early marriage and childbearing with anemia was evaluated using multilevel binary logistic regression models while controlling other determinants.Results: Overall prevalence of anemia among female adolescents was 23.8 (95% CI; 22.3-25.2). Our multivariable multilevel analysis showed that individual-level marital status (AOR=1.53, 95% CI=1.06-2.02) and community-level childbearing status (AOR=2.80, 95% CI 1.25-6.29) were positively associated with anemia among female adolescents.Conclusion: Our findings show that the consequences of early marriage and early childbearing on adolescent anemia are significant. There is a need to avoid early marriage and childbearing in Ethiopia to improve the health status of adolescent girls.