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Magnitude and severity of iron deficiency was evaluated in 413 randomly selected adolescent school girls (10–15 y) from Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Mean (sd) hematocrit (hct) and ferritin levels were 42.9 (3.3) % and 48.4 (25.1) μg/L, respectively. Stunting was common (23.5%) and 27.1% were thin (−2Z) on the basis of BMI. Serum transferrin receptors (sTfR) for the 148 girls with lowest ferritins ranged from 4.5 to 20.5 with mean levels of 8.2 (2.6) mg/L. Mean and median (25th, 75th) for hsCRP were 0.99 (2.4) and 0.4 (0.2, 0.8) mg/L, respectively. The prevalence of anemia in the girls was 7.1% after adjusting hct for elevation (1500–2646 m). Fifty seven (16.2%) of the girls were iron depleted (ferritin < 15μg/L) and 13.7% had low iron stores (ferritin 15–30 μg/L) suggesting that iron deficiency was prevalent in this population. Anthropometric indicators including HAZ (r = 0.16) and MUAC (r = 0.16) correlated (p<0.004) with hct. Girls involved in fire wood collection and agricultural activities had significantly lower hct. The most common parasites were E. histolytica (19.9%) and H. nana (8.6%). However, parasites commonly associated with anemia including hookworm (1.8%), S. mansoni (0.6%) and malaria (0.6%) were rare. Anemia was a public health problem in the adolescents and 30% of the girls were at risk of iron deficiency (ferritin < 30 μg/L). Multifactorial causes of anemia in the adolescent girls needs further investigation. (Supported by: NORAD II, Mekelle Univ, Ethiopia & Oklahoma State Univ, USA).

A total of 413 girls, 10‐15 y, were randomly selected from nine schools. Age and exam scores were collected from the school register. Anthropometric measurements, clinical assessments and biological samples were obtained using standard techniques. The prevalence of stunting was 24.5%, and 26.4% of girls had BMI = ‐2z scores. Entamoeba histolytica (19.8%) and Hymenolepis nana (6.3%) were the common intestinal parasites. Only 4% of the girls had hematocrits of =36%. Goiter as assessed by palpation was 45.3% and Bitot's spot prevalence was 2.4%. The local term "hima", describing night blindness, was mentioned by 27.4% of the girls, suggesting that the problem is occurring with some regularity in the study communities. Girls without goiter performed better in math than the goitrous girls (57.6% vs. 53.5%, p=0.007). Stunted girls had lower MUAC (18.1 vs. 18.8 cm, p=0.0038) and hematocrit levels (42.1 vs. 43.2%, p=0.0075). Age was correlated inversely to HAZ (r=‐0.1886, p = 0.0001) and positively to BMI (r=0.5092, p<0.0001). Maternal education was significantly associated with MUAC (p=0.0008) and BMIz scores (p=0.0221). Age (p<0.0001) and hematocrit levels (p=0.0201) were the main predictors of girls' stunting. Iodine and vitamin A, but not iron deficiency anemia, were public health problems in adolescent girls from the study communities. (Supported by Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Mekelle Univ., Ethiopia, and Oklahoma State Univ., USA).

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