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Low haemoglobin level or anaemia is a health problem worldwide especially in developing countries like India. Anaemia is generally higher among indigenous groups compared to general population globally and females are specifically more prone to anaemia. However, studies are inadequate on indigenous groups of India. The aims of the study are to determine the prevalence of anaemia among the female Oraons of North 24 Parganas and to study the association between anaemia and concomitants like socio-demographic and food habit variables. Data have been collected on demographic, socio-economic and food habit variables using well-tested questionnaire from 309 Oraon females living in rural and urban areas of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Haemoglobin data were collected using standard instrument and technique. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 16.0. Females of rural and urban areas were mostly married and non-literate, employed as labourers and had sedentary occupations. Majority of them consume fruits and vegetables but less animal protein and dairy product. Around 80% of the females were anaemic, irrespective of their habitat, socio-economic status and food habits. Anaemic status was associated with insufficient intake of animal protein, which is significantly associated with the anaemia status of the females in the present study.

Fertility and under-five mortality are considered as key health indicators of a population. Both the fertility and under-five mortality varies accross countries, regions, ethnic groups and so on, which may bedue to disparities in socio-economic and cultural factors. The study aimed to better understanding the association of fertility and under-five mortality with selected socio-economic characteristics of the Santal labourer group of Birbhum district, West Bengal. Cross-sectional data have been collected on fertility, mortality and socio-economic characteristics from 627 ever-married Santal women. Descriptive statistics, multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportion hazard analysis have been done. Total fertility rate (TFR) of the present study group was 2.9 and the mortality rate was 105.1. In the present study, educational status, age and household size of the women have significant association with fertility. Under-five mortality has significant association with educational status of mother and birth order of the children. The study indicated that education was the one of the important factors (socio-economic characters) that had most significant impact on both fertility and under-five mortality of the Santal labourer group.

Life table calculation of small populations, especially of marginal populations, is difficult due to a small number of death records and lack of a systematic birth and death registry. The present study aimed to calculate a life table of a small sample of Santal population from Beliatore area of the Bankura district, West Bengal, India, using the recall method. The data on birth and death events were collected using house-to-house interviewing and cross-checking the data with reference to the significant events of the area and the family. The life table was calculated from age specific death rate of a closed population retrospectively estimated for 10 years. The calculated life expectancy at birth of the study population was 63.9 years with a standard error of 3.15 years. The finding agrees with the life expectancy of the other larger populations of the region, although calculated using conventional methods. The method needs to be evaluated to get the optimum number of death events required for calculating the life table with an acceptable error level. The study will be helpful for comparisons of overall health status of small populations with respect to time and space.