Urban -Rural Differential in the Association Between Household Wealth Index and Anemia Among Women in Reproductive Age in Ethiopia, 2016.

Abstract Background: Anemia is more prevalent among women, and it is a moderate public health problem in Ethiopia. The wealth status and place of residence of a woman have implications on the intervention of anemia. Studies that examined the relationship between women’s wealth index status and place of residency in Ethiopia are scarce. We aimed to identify the urban-rural differential in the association between household wealth index and anemia among women of childbearing age in Ethiopia. Method: A cross-sectional design was employed with nationally representative sample of 14100 women aged 15–49-year-old from the Ethiopian demographic and health survey conducted in 2016. Samples were selected by the two-stage clustering sampling method. The primary outcome was anemia in women of childbearing age. A hemoglobin level of below 11 g/dl for pregnant women and 12 g/dl for non-pregnant women was used as the indicator of anemia. Using a three-level random intercept model to explored associated factors at individual and household levels quantified the observed and unobserved variations between households’ wealth index and place of residence. Results: Women of low household wealth index category were anemic (29.6%) than those middle and rich wealth index categories. Women who live in rural areas were (25.5%) were anemic than those who live in urban. The odds of anemia were significantly higher in women of low household wealth category, compared to women of high household wealth category (AOR = 1.37, 95%CI = 1.14–1.65, P < 0.001). This is not true for women to live in urban residency. Conclusion: Since the driver of anemia in this study is the palace of residency affecting women of reproductive age groups, novel public health interventions should consider urban residency those women with the lowest household wealth status.