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The study compared hemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin levels between adolescent and adult women with different body mass indices, dietary intake, and sociodemography. A secondary analysis of data for 3177 South African women ⩾15 years of age who participated in the SANHANES-1 study was undertaken. Abnormal Hb (≤12 g/dL) and serum ferritin (<15 μg/mL) were based on the World Health Organization's criteria for nonpregnant women aged ⩾15 years. Data were analyzed using STATA version 11. Overall, anemia was detected in 740 (23.3%) participants. Of the individuals in the subsample (n = 1123, 15-35 years) who had serum ferritin measured, 6.0% presented with iron depletion (ID) and 10.8% presented with iron-deficiency anemia (IDA). The highest prevalences of anemia, ID, and IDA were in 15- to 18-year-olds (11.2%, 8.8%, and 20.2%, respectively). Black young adults (19-24 years) were up to 40 times more likely to present with ID compared with their non-black counterparts. While overweight adolescents were three times more likely to be anemic, overweight and obese young adults, as well as obese older adults (25-35 years), were less likely to be anemic compared with normal-weight women of all age groups. Overconsumption of dietary fat increased ID by up to 54- and 11-fold (adolescents and 25- to 35-year-olds, respectively). In South Africa, anemia is most prevalent in adolescents and black women. Anemia is also an indicator of overconsumption of dietary fat and a marker of socioeconomic disadvantage., (© 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.)

To determine the current vitamin A status of a nationally representative sample of women aged 16-35 years, compare it with previous national data, and determine the impact of sociodemography, diet, and body size on vitamin A status, we performed secondary analysis of data on South African women who participated in the first South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1). Vitamin A status was assessed by serum retinol, and the findings are reported as means and prevalences with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Overall, the age-standardized vitamin A deficiency prevalence was 11.7%, a decrease from previous national data, but serum retinol levels remained lower than in other developing countries. Overall, unweighted, multilevel, multivariate logistic regression showed that vitamin A deficiency was influenced by race only (odds ratio (OR) = 1.89, P = 0.031), while weighted multiple logistic regression for 16- to 18-year-olds showed that vitamin A deficiency was influenced by locality (OR = 9.83, P = 0.005) and household income (intermediate (OR = 0.2, P = 0.022) and upper (OR = 0.25, P = 0.049)). Despite the decreased prevalence, vitamin A deficiency remains a moderate public health problem in the country. Opportunities for targeted interventions have been identified., (© 2017 New York Academy of Sciences.)