Prevalence of Anemia and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending a Rural Primary Health Care Facility in Delhi.

Authors

Dhivagar Jegadeesan, Vijaykumar Rajendran, Saranya Rajamanickam

Published in

Cureus. Volume 18. Issue 7. Pages e113281. Epub Jul 24, 2026.

Abstract

Background Anemia during pregnancy remains a major public health problem in India, particularly in rural areas. This study estimated the prevalence of anemia and identified factors associated with anemia among pregnant women attending a rural primary health care facility in Barwala, Delhi. Methodology A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 186 pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at the Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC), Barwala, Delhi from October 2024 to October 2025. Data on socio-demographic, nutritional, menstrual, obstetric, and antenatal care characteristics were collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Hemoglobin concentration was measured using the HemoCue method, and anemia was classified according to WHO criteria. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with anemia. Results  The prevalence of anemia was 74.7%, with a mean hemoglobin concentration of 9.77 ± 1.60 g/dL. Educational status, occupation, per-capita income, dietary iron intake, iron-folic acid (IFA) supplementation, menstrual spotting, gravida status, and history of worm infestation were significantly associated with anemia. In multivariable binary logistic regression analysis, low dietary iron intake (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 7.84), unemployment (AOR: 4.98), history of worm infestation (AOR: 4.82), and illiteracy (AOR: 3.89) were independently associated with higher odds of anemia. Conclusion Anemia remains highly prevalent among pregnant women attending a rural primary health care facility in Delhi. Factors independently associated with anemia included low dietary iron intake, unemployment, history of worm infestation, illiteracy, inadequate IFA supplementation, low per-capita income, higher gravida status, and menstrual spotting. Strengthening nutrition counseling, improving IFA compliance, promoting dietary iron intake, and integrating routine deworming into antenatal care services may help reduce the burden of maternal anemia.

PMID:
42634819
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Aug 2026.

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