Determining Prevalence of Anemia and Its Associated Factors in Cameroon: A Multilevel Analysis

Background. Anemia constitutes a major public health concern, which is associated with maternal and perinatal mortality. In low-and middle-income countries, the burden of anemia is profoundly high. Cameroon, as one of the low- and middle-income countries, has a disproportionate anemia burden. Factors associated with anemia prevalence are largely unknown in Cameroon. Hence, we determined the prevalence of anemia and its individual/household and community-level factors among adult women in Cameroon. Methods. We derived data from the 2018 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey for analysis in this study. Using the Stata version 14 software, univariate multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to select variables that had significant association with anemia at p < 0.05. Statistically significant variables were included in a multivariable multilevel logistic regression modelling to examine their associations with anemia. Results were reported using adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with their respective 95% confidence interval (CI). Results. A total of 6,809 women aged 15-49 years were involved in this study with a mean age 30 +/- 11.87 years. Approximately two-fifths of women were anemic. Of them, 0.8% were severely anemic, while 17.4% and 21.5% were moderately and mildly anemic, respectively. Current employment status (yes AOR = 0.77, 95% CI; 0.61-0.96) and parity (1-2 children AOR = 0.61, 95% CI; 0.44-0.86) were the main individual level factors associated with anemia, whereas region (Douala region AOR = 2.65, 95% CI; 1.61-4.36, North-West region AOR = 0.53, 95% CI; 0.28-0.99) was the community-level factor associated with anaemia. Conclusion. Empowerment of women through employment opportunities as well as focusing special attention in region where high prevalence of anemia could be crucial to decrease the burden of anemia and related maternal and perinatal mortality in the country.

Automated summary

Anemia is a major public health concern in low-and middle-income countries like Cameroon. Factors such as employment status, parity, and region play a role in the prevalence of anemia among adult women in Cameroon. Empowering women through employment opportunities and focusing on regions with high prevalence of anemia could be crucial in reducing the burden of anemia and related maternal and perinatal mortality in the country.