Abstract

This research aimed to evaluate the prevalence and factors contributing to iron deficiency
anemia among undergraduate female medical students at Kampala International University
Western Campus (KIU-WC). Employing a cross-sectional study design, data was collected
from a sample of undergraduate female medical students at KIU-WC using a simple random
sampling method. The information gathered through questionnaires was entered into
Microsoft Excel 2013 and analyzed using Stata 12.0. Among the 384 randomly selected
respondents, the study revealed an anemia prevalence of 15.89%. The socio-demographic
factors significantly associated with anemia included age group (20 – 24 years vs. less than
20 years), mother’s education level (high school vs. no education), and primary expenses
(social events vs. buying food). Additionally, nutritional behaviors such as frequency of
meals per day (3 – 4 meals vs. 1 - 2 meals) and weekly breakfast intake (6 – 7 times vs. 0 – 1
time) were associated with anemia. Comparatively, the prevalence of undernutrition among
these female medical students was relatively low compared to similar studies. Notably, age,
mother’s education level, primary expenses, frequency of meals, and weekly breakfast
intake emerged as significant factors associated with anemia among undergraduate female
medical students at KIU-WC.
Keywords: Anaemia, Women of reproductive age, Pregnant women, Female medical
students, Haemoglobin