Anaemia Among Mother-father-child Pairs in India: Examining Co-existence of Triple Burden of Anaemia in a Family

Background: Anaemia is a global health concern and is also a common comorbidity in multiple medical conditions. Very limited research is available examining anaemia among family members in India and across various countries. The present study aimed to examine the co-existence of the triple burden of anaemia among mother-father-child pairs in a family.

Methods: The data utilized was from the National Family Health Survey conducted in 2015-16. The effective sample size for the study was 26,910 couples, along with children aged 6-59 months. The bivariate and binary logistic regression analysis were applied to assess the factors associated with family-level anaemia. In bivariate analysis, a chi-square test was performed to determine the association of socio-demographic factors with anaemic family.

Results: More than half of the mothers (57.5%) and their children (58%), along with 10% of fathers, were found to be anaemic; however, the co-existence of triple burden of anaemia among mother-father-child pairs was 4.7% in the study. The likelihood of family-level anaemia was low when both the parents were educated [OR: 0.69, CI: 0.58-0.81], and it was high when both the parents were employed [OR: 1.40 CI: 1.10-1.80]. Families from the Scheduled Tribe had a 62% higher likelihood to suffer from anaemia [OR: 1.62, CI: 1.33-1.97].

Conclusions: The suggested interventions include early diagnosis, effective management, and treatment of anaemia. Moreover, adequate complementary feeding practices for children shall also be promoted. Parental education on nutrition is also required, and community interventions are needed to improve parental education on nutrition. At last, there is a need for greater policy and program attention to improving nutritional knowledge among mothers so as to tackle the triple burden of anaemia among mother-father-child pairs.