Abstract

Background: The increasing trouble of anaemia in India and its negative effects on academic performance of students, it is necessary to find out the prevalence in undergraduate college students. In present study, an attempt has made to study body mass index and hemoglobin estimation on medical students. Healthy male and female have different haemoglobin levels. This sex difference is independent of iron status — iron replete premenopausal women have mean haemoglobin levels approximately 12% lower than age & race matched men. Aim of the study is to correlate the hemoglobin with body mass index between male and female medical students. Method: Healthy medical student volunteers (N=64), males [45] and females [15], ranged in age from 18 to 25 years, participated in the present study. After taking consent, linear height measured by measuring tape mounted on the wall and Weight recorded by weighing machine. Data of Haemoglobin gm/dl (Sahli’s Method), and BMI (Kg/m2) was analysed. The relationships between the continuous variables were examined by Pearson’s linear correlation test. Significance accepted at the level of P ≤ 0.05. Further grading of BMI was done as per the WHO criterion. Results: In all subjects (n=64) Hemoglobin (13.26±1.94), Height (1.71±0.07), Weight (64.11±13.24) and BMI (22.20±3.98) were estimated. Correlation between Wt and Hb was r=0.1322 has non-significant positive correlation. Correlation between BMI and Hb was r=0.017628 also has non-significant positive correlation. Whereas Correlation between Ht and Hb was r=0.316576 has significant positive. There was significant difference between Ht (p<0.001), Wt (<0.001) and near significance was Hb(p<0.05) between males and females. There was significant difference (p<0.05) between mean BMI (Kg/m2) of males (22.7±4.08) and females(20.4±2.85). In conclusion, there is a correlation between BMI and Hb status, anaemia is more prevalent in female college students, and the problem of anaemia should address seriously. Conclusions: Study showed that there was difference in HB and BMI between males and female subjects which was statistically significant, however correlation of HB with BMI between males and females showed slight variation, but statistically it was not significant. There was a significant difference between the Ht and Wt levels in both males and females. There was a correlation between Ht and Hb status showing uphill linear relationship. BMI had no correlation with hemoglobin.

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