Impact of socioeconomic and health related factors on the iron status of adolescent girls from two boarding schools in Southern Benin

To our knowledge, the impact of socioeconomic and health related factors on the iron status of adolescent girls has never been studied in Benin. Objective: These factors were studied in 180 girls aged 12 to 17 years living in two boarding schools from South Benin. Methods: Iron deficiency (ID) was defined as either serum ferritin (SF) < 20 μg/L or SF between 20-50 μg/L plus two abnormal values in the three following parameters: serum iron < 11 μmol/L, total iron binding capacity > 73 μmol/L or transferrin saturation < 20%. Socioeconomic and health related factors were obtained from each participant by mean of an interview using a standardized and pre-tested questionnaire. Results: Almost half the participants reported some health problems in the last four months before the study, whereas more than 75% auto-medicated before going to the hospital. The majority of the girls believed themselves to be in good health, although only 16% could define the term 'anemia'. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that girls whose mother was a manual worker (P = .002), who came from a larger family (P = .0001), and who auto-medicated (P = .014), had a lower hemoglobin level, whereas girls who had started their menstruation (P = .008) had a lower SF level. In a logistic regression analysis, girls from a large family size and whose mother was a manual worker showed a higher risk of IDA (OR = 3.5; 95%CI = 1.1-2.5; P = .04; OR = 3.0; 95%CI = 1.2-2.2; P = .04 respectively). Conclusion: The findings indicate that iron deficiency is related to the occupation of the mother, family size, auto-medication, and menstruation.