Iron deficiency anemia among three groups of adolescents and young adults.

This study was initiated in order to estimate and compare the occurrence of nutritional anemia in three groups of adolescents and young adults. The first group comprised 159 individuals aged 14-21, who had been previously screened for thalassemia in three Connecticut cities. The second group was made up of 163 Derby High School students, aged 14-18, who had also been previously screened for thalassemia. The third group consisted of 118 Yale undergraduate students, aged 16-21, who were monitored for nutritional anemia while undergoing routine physical examinations at the Yale University Health Service. The prevalence of nutritional anemia varied from 0.0 percent to 5.5 percent among the three female groups, and from 4.4 percent to 17.9 percent among the three male groups. Only the Yale undergraduate male group was found to be from this condition. The Yale undergraduate females were discovered to have the highest prevalence. Mean hemoglobin levels of the male and female groups we also compared.