title: Risk factors for anemia in Vietnam.
abstract: Anemia is a significant public health problem in Vietnam, but representative national data and comprehensive risk factors analysis are lacking. The objectives of this study were to: 1) determine the distribution and severity of anemia in Vietnam, and 2) to assess potential risk factors for anemia. Nine thousand five hundred fifty households in 53 provinces were covered using a stratified two-stage cluster survey carried out in 1995. Selected household members were interviewed; intestinal helminthes were tested in non-pregnant women by Kato-Katz technique; hemoglobin concentrations were measured with Hemocue. Data were weighted and analyzed by survey procedures using SAS 9.0. Overall, 60% of children under 2 years old, 53% of pregnant women, 40% of non-pregnant women and 15.6% of men were anemic. Hookworm infection was the strongest factor associated with anemia (OR = 1.7; 2.9 and 4.5 for 11,999, 2,000-3,999 and > or = 4,000 hookworm egg counts, respectively) and accounted for 22% of anemia. Hookworm intensity was significantly associated with hemoglobin level; for each 1,000 egg increase, hemoglobin was reduced by 2.4 g/l. Living in different ecological zones, eating < 1 serving of meat/ week, and farming were significantly associated with anemia in women and children. Other risk factors in women included having > 3 children and having a child < 24 months old. In men, no variables were found significantly associated with anemia.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Health Sciences Program, Graduate School of Art and Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta GA, 30322, USA. phnguye@sph.emory.edu
authors.forename: Phuong H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Khan C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Le Mai
authors.forename: Tam V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Khoi H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Caryn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bern
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: Reynaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martorell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014504:Urban Health; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology