Risk and Prevalence of Anemia among Women Attending Public and Private Universities

Abstract

Anemia is a global public health problem. Women are known to be more susceptible to anemia; however, no controlled study has yet assessed differences in the prevalence of anemia exclusively among women with higher education. The aim of the study was to establish the prevalence of anemia among women attending universities. The hemoglobin concentration of 140 women aged 18 to 45 years old from a private and a public university was measured. Anthropometric and socioeconomic data were also collected. The risk of developing anemia was almost threefold higher among the students attending the public university (OR: 2.71; p=.0248). The prevalence of anemia was much higher than in the overall female population (79%). The higher education was not a protective factor for anemia in women when analysed separately from the total population of women.