Objective: To determine the prevalence of anaemia and the relationship between tea-drinking and anaemia in reproductive married women in rural China.
Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out in four rural communities in Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, China. A total of 1425 reproductive married women at the ages of 20 to 49 years participated in this study and had a satisfactory measure of hemoglobin. Their general information, health status and lifestyle behaviors were collected. Hemoglobin was tested by Drabkin Method. Chi-square test, and binary and multinomial Logistic regression models were used for statistical analysis in SPSS 11.0.
Result: Among 1425 subjects, the average concentration of hemoglobin were 114.7 +/- 17.0 g/L, the prevalences of anaemia were 63.3%, and most were mild and moderate anaemia (Such prevalence were 63.5%, 63.2% and 63.4% respectively at the ages of 20-30 years, 31-40 years, and 41-49 years.). Subjects with tea-drinking were higher in average concentration of hemoglobin than those of no tea-drinking (t = 3.33, P = 0.001). There were significant associations between tea-drinking and anaemia OR was 0.56 (95% CI: 0.45, 0.73). Further, such protective effects of tea-drinking were observed among subjects with different anaemia [ORs were 0.57 (95% CI: 0.43, 0.75), 0.57 (95% CI: 0.43, 0.75), and 0.28 (95% CI: 0.11, 0.70)] in mild, moderate and severe anaemia, respectively.
Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia in reproductive married women in rural of China could be higher and tea-drinking could be a possible protective factor.