ANEMIA AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS: ITS ASSOCIATION WITH PROTEIN AND IRON INTAKE

Abstract

Adolescence is a time of physical and psychological growth as people transition to adulthood, and proper nutrition is essential for this process. Anemia is characterized by a lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of anemia among teenage women in a rural area. The study used a cross-sectional design and included 112 middle school female students in Rejang Lebong Regency. The data was collected using survey questionnaire and a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire to assess risk factors such as knowledge, the intake of energy, protein, vitamin C, and iron. Correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between these variables and anemia status. The correlation analysis showed that knowledge, energy, and vitamin C intake were not significantly correlated with anemia (p value = 0.378, 0.563 and 0.087, respectively). However, there was a significant correlation between iron and protein intake with the occurrence of anemia (p value = 0.000 and 0.030).