Targeted and Population-Wide Interventions Are Needed to Address the Persistent Burden of Anemia among Women of Reproductive Age in Tanzania

Bruno F. Sunguya, Yue Ge, Linda B. Mlunde, Rose Mpembeni, Germana H. Leyna, Krishna C. Poudel, Niyati Parekh and Jiayan Huang
Additional contact information
Bruno F. Sunguya: School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam P.O. Box 65001, Tanzania
Yue Ge: School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Linda B. Mlunde: School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam P.O. Box 65001, Tanzania
Rose Mpembeni: School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam P.O. Box 65001, Tanzania
Germana H. Leyna: School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam P.O. Box 65001, Tanzania
Krishna C. Poudel: Department of Health Promotion and Policy, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
Niyati Parekh: Public Health Nutrition Program, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA
Jiayan Huang: School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-12

Abstract: Recent evidence suggests that 44.8% of women of reproductive age (WRA) in Tanzania suffer from anemia. Addressing this public health challenge calls for local evidence of its burden and determinants thereof for policy and tailored interventions. This secondary data analysis used Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys (TDHS) 2004–2005 and 2015–2016 with a total of 23,203 WRA. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to characterize the burden of anemia, regression analyses to examine the adjusted change in the prevalence of anemia and remaining determinants thereof, and the Global Information System (GIS) to map the differences in the burden of anemia in Tanzania over the period of one decade. Considering the risk factors of anemia observed in our study, WRA in Tanzania should have been 15% less likely to suffer from anemia in 2015 compared to 2005. However, a small decline (3.6%) was not evenly distributed across the regions in Tanzania. Factors that remained significantly associated with anemia among WRA in the latest survey include age above 35 years (AOR = 1.564, p = 0.007), education level (AOR = 0.720, p = 0.001), pregnancy status (AOR = 1.973, p < 0.001), and use of contraception (AOR of 0.489, p < 0.001). Our findings suggest that WRA in Tanzania aged above 35 should be the target population to accept the more tailored interventions.

Keywords: anemia; women of reproductive age; undernutrition; Tanzania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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