Table 3.
Association of dietary and health variables with prevalence of anemia in Ethiopian women
| Variable |
Total n (%) |
Normal n (%) |
Anemia1 n (%) |
X2 | P | |
| Occupation | ||||||
| Mixed farming | 351 (36.2) | 266 (75.8) | 85 (24.2) | 21.7 | 0.001 | |
| Livestock | 33 (3.4) | 14 (42.4) | 19 (57.6) | |||
| Trade | 125 (12.9) | 85 (68.0) | 40 (32.0) | |||
| Civil servant | 154 (15.9) | 108 (70.1) | 46 (29.9) | |||
| Factory worker | 26 (2.7) | 15 (57.7) | 11 (42.3) | |||
| Handicraft | 40 (4.1) | 29 (72.5) | 11 (27.5) | |||
| None(housewife) | 241 (24.8) | 158 (65.6) | 83 (34.4) | |||
| Type of family planning | ||||||
| None | 521 (53.7) | 353 (67.8) | 168 (32.2) | 15.8 | 0.003 | |
| Pills | 146 (15.1) | 109 (74.7) | 37 (25.3) | |||
| IUCD | 7 (0.7) | 5 (71.5) | 2 (28.5) | |||
| Injection | 285 (29.4) | 203 (71.2) | 82 (28.8) | |||
| Others (condom) | 25 (2.6) | 9 (36.0) | 16 (64.0) | |||
| Type of illnesses2 | ||||||
| Pneumonia | 39 (4.0) | 25 (64.1) | 14 (35.9) | 16.7 | 0.001 | |
| Malaria | 42 (4.3) | 26 (61.9) | 16 (38.1) | |||
| Chronic illnesses3 | 45 (4.6) | 20 (44.4) | 25 (55.6) | |||
| None | 844 (87.0) | 604 (71.6) | 240 (28.4) | |||
| Intestinal parasites | ||||||
| Present | 837 (86.3) | 620 (74.1) | 217 (25.9) | 3.07 | 0.07 | |
| Absent | 163 (13.7) | 123 (75.5) | 40 (24.5) | |||
| Vegetable consumption daily | ||||||
| Once a day or more | 567 (58.5) | 451 (79.5) | 116 (24.5) | 16.6 | 0.001 | |
| Less than once a day | 403 (41.5) | 274 (68.0) | 129 (32.0) | |||
| Meat consumption weekly | ||||||
| Once a week or more | 194 (20.0) | 116 (59.8) | 78 (40.2) | 13.6 | 0.001 | |
| Less than once a week | 776 (80.0) | 349 (45.0) | 427 (55.0) | |||
1 Hemoglobin < 11 g/dL in pregnant women and < 12 g/dL for non-pregnant women.
2 Includes acute febrile illnesses and chronic infections such as tuberculosis.
3 Chronic illnesses include TB, and persistent diarrhea.