Study of Common Health Morbidities in School Going Children of Adolescent Age Group

Abstract

Title: Study of common health morbidities in school going children of adolescent age group. Background and Objectives: Adolescence, a time of change from childhood and adulthood, possesses a urgent position in the life of people. This period is portrayed by an especially fast rate of development. The pinnacle rates of development are surpassed just amid the fetal life and in early infancy. Malnutrition is a noiseless crisis and it is one of the most regular reasons for morbidity and mortality among adolescents all through the world. The present examination was attempted to explore the prevalence of malnutrition, hypertension, minor ailments like anemia, refractive errors, dental caries, skin related problems and substance abuse among 12 to 17 years of age school going adolescents. Design and setting: This was a community based cross-sectional descriptive study. Conducted on 474 participants of three different schools of Waghodiya district, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Methods: Anthropometric measurements and history taking and clinical examination of participants. Results: A total of 474 adolescents were incorporated in the study. 16.67% adolescents were found to be underweight whereas 3.80% and 2.95% participants were overweight and obese for age respectively. Stunting was found in 16.24% of participants. Boys(64.9% of total stunted subjects) were significantly more affected by stunting then girls. Overall prevalence of hypertension in study group was 5.06% X and prehypertensives were 1.27%.hypertension among girls was significantly higher than boys. Anemia(clinical pallor) was the most common ailment observed in 50.63% of participants, followed by dental caries (23.63%) and skin disorders(10.13%). Prevalence of other ailments like refractive errors and URTI were 5.91% and 3.59% respectively. Coming to substance abuse 35.44% of study adolescents were having habit of chewing areca nut regularly. Tobacco chewing habit was accepted by 2% of adolescents, in form of gutkha(1.27%) or raw tobacco(0.63%) chewing. Conclusion: Present study documents poor nutrition status of adolescents, describes earnest requirement for better sustenance to battle the issue of undernutrition. This study has also provided us with important prevalence data of different common morbidities in this age group. High prevalence of areca nut chewing among these study participants, ought to be considered and there is dire requirement for measures to control this propensity from spreading. providing mass education regarding nutrition and health to children as well as family members of these children is need of this time.