Anemia and associated factors in women at reproductive age in a Brazilian Northeastern municipality.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia and associated factors in women at reproductive age in the city of Vitoria de Santo Antão, Pernambuco.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study with a representative sample of 322 women aged between 15 and 49 years. Anemia was diagnosed by measuring hemoglobin below 12 g/dL. The independent variables were: demographic and socioeconomic conditions (age, race/color, education, literacy, presence of children aged < 5 years in the household, regime of residence occupation, ownership of assets, and per capita income), housing conditions (number of people in the household, number of bedrooms, and basic sanitation), food and nutrition security and women's health conditions (menarche, number of pregnancies, history of miscarriages, body mass index, and ferritin). Poisson regression was used to analyze the factors associated with anemia.

RESULTS: The mean age of women surveyed was 31.1 ± 6.61 years old (standard deviation - SD) and the prevalence of anemia was 18.6% (95%CI 14.7 - 23.3). After multivariate analysis, anemia was significantly associated with age ≤ 19 years and low ferritin.

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of anemia is characterized as a mild public health problem and follows the world trend in developing countries.