Co-Occurrence of Overweight/Obesity, Anemia and Micronutrient Deficiencies among Non-Pregnant Women of Reproductive Age in Ghana: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey.

Overweight/obesity (OWOB) often co-occurs with anemia or micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) among women of reproductive age (WRA) in Ghana; identifying the risk factors of these conditions is essential for prevention. We aimed to examine the prevalence of OWOB, anemia, and MNDs and their co-occurrence and risk factors among non-pregnant women 15-49 years of age in Ghana. Data were from a 2017 two-stage national survey of 1063 women. We estimated the weighted prevalence of single and co-occurring malnutrition, and used logistic regression to explore risk factors. The prevalence of OWOB, anemia, and ≥1 MND was 39%, 22%, and 62%, respectively; that of OWOB co-occurring with anemia was 6.7%, and OWOB co-occurring with ≥1 MND was 23.6%. There was no significant difference between observed and expected prevalence of co-occurrence OWOB with anemia or MND. Risk factors were: living in southern (vs. northern) belt, high- (vs. low-) wealth household, being ≥ 25 years old, and being married (vs. single) for OWOB, and living in northern (vs. southern) belt and medium- (vs. low-) wealth household for anemia and ≥1 MND, respectively. Different interventions are required for addressing OWOB in WRA than those for anemia and MNDs.

Barriers to and Facilitators of Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation within a School-Based Integrated Nutrition and Health Promotion Program among Ghanaian Adolescent Girls.

BACKGROUND: Anemia is a moderate public health problem among adolescent girls in Ghana. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the barriers to and facilitators of program fidelity to a school-based anemia reduction program with weekly iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation. METHODS: Authors analyzed directly observed weekly IFA consumption data collected longitudinally and cross-sectional data from a representative survey of 60 secondary schools and 1387 adolescent girls in the Northern and Volta regions of Ghana after 1 school year (2017-2018) of the intervention (30-36 wk). A bottleneck analysis was used to characterize the levels of IFA coverage and used adjusted generalized linear mixed-effects models to quantify the school and student drivers of IFA intake adherence. RESULTS: Of girls, 90% had ever consumed the tablet, whereas 56% had consumed ≥15 weekly tablets (mean: 16.4, range: 0-36), indicating average intake adherence was about half of the available tablets. Among ever consumers, 88% of girls liked the tablet, and 27% reported undesirable changes (primarily heavy menstrual flow). School-level factors represented 75% of the variance in IFA consumption over the school year. Total IFA tablets consumed was associated with the ability to make up missed IFA distributions (+1.4 tablets; 95% CI: +0.8, +2.0 tablets), junior compared with senior secondary school (+5.8; 95% CI: +0.1, +11.5), educators' participating in a program-related training (+7.6; 95% CI: +2.9, 12.2), and educator perceptions that implementation was difficult (-6.9; 95% CI: -12.1, -1.7) and was an excessive time burden (-4.4; 95% CI: -8.4, -0.4). CONCLUSIONS: Although the program reached Ghanaian schoolgirls, school-level factors were barriers to adherence. Modifications such as expanded training, formalized make-up IFA distributions, sensitization (awareness promotion), and additional support to senior high schools may improve adherence. Spreading the responsibility for IFA distribution to other teachers and streamlining monitoring may reduce the burden at the school level. Strengthening the health education component and improving knowledge of IFA among students may also be beneficial.