Perceived health discomfort among adolescent girls and related factors in an urban area, South India.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescence is a period of life that is a bridge between childhood and adulthood. India has the world's largest adolescent girl's population, and adolescent girls are an important vulnerable group of population. Perceived health is a predictor of morbidity and mortality in adults and has been an important marker of the health status in population health studies for decades. The aim of the study was to describe adolescent's perception of health and association between some factors such as nutrition status, socioeconomic status (SES), and health status. As their perception of health discomfort affects their health behavior and self-care, therefore, their health status is an important matter to discuss.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban areas from a major city in South India. Six hundred and fifty adolescent female students aged 10-19 years formed the study population. Standardized self-reporting questionnaires were used to obtain relevant data regarding demographic features, SES, and health status. BMI calculated for each individual. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.

RESULTS: About 83.3% of participants ranked their health status as good to excellent. A majority of the girls had one or more problems related to their menstrual cycles. The most common occurring problem was headache (45.3%). 47.8% of participants exhibited symptoms of mild insomnia. Strong significant association between nutritional status and SES was found. Higher percentage of undernourished adolescents belonged to low SES.

CONCLUSION: Adolescents are expected to enjoy good health, but this does not seem to be the case in the developing countries like India, where poverty, malnutrition, and repeated infection are rampant. Majority of the problems such as healthy nutrition and self-care can be solved by community-based programs, health education, and food fortification.