Prevalence and Predictors of Geophagy among Adolescent Girls in Likuyani District of Kakamega County

Prevalence and Predictors of Geophagy among Adolescent Girls in Likuyani District of Kakamega County

Geophagy is the regular and deliberate eating of soil by humans. Geophagy is a widespread practice in western Kenya. Geophagy significantly increases the risk of infestation with Ascaris, impair the absorption of micronutrients and cause micronutrient deficiency, particularly iron. It is estimated that approximately half of adolescent girls living in sub-Saharan Africa are anemic. Adverse effects of anemia range from severe morbidity to decreased physical work capacity to deficits in cognitive development and potentially school performance. The relationship between geophagy with iron status and anaemia is still obscure, it has not been clearly elucidated whether it is geophagy that causes iron deficiency, or it is iron deficiency that causes geophagy. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of geophagy among adolescent girls. .