Diet Quality as an Indicator of Iron Deficiency Anemia: A Study of Adolescent Girls of Senior High School in Jambi City

摘要

Background and Objectives: Anemia is a global health problem and 23.9% of women in Indonesia suffer from this condition. Indonesian diets are lacking in iron; thus, iron deficiency anemia is a nutritional problem. Therefore, this study aimed to assess diet quality as an indicator of iron deficiency anemia among adolescent girls. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a cross-sectional design and was carried out in Senior High School in Jambi City (State High School Number Five) in 2017. The subjects were 85 adolescent girls. The diet quality data comprised three indexes: dietary diversity, micronutrient requirements (75%) based on the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) of 11 vitamins and minerals and the WHO recommendation for the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Data were analyzed using univariate, bivariate (correlation test) and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses. Results: More than half of the subjects were non-anemic (56.5%) but 37 (43.5%) of the subjects were anemic. Most subjects (68.2%) had low diet quality. The Spearman correlation analysis showed a correlation between diet quality and hemoglobin levels in subjects (p = 0.003). The linear regression test showed that diet diversity had a major influence on hemoglobin levels in subjects (p = 0.013; CI = 0.714). Conclusion: The analysis showed a correlation between diet quality and hemoglobin levels in adolescent girls. Thus, diet quality can be an indicator of iron deficiency anemia among adolescent girls.