Table 2 Background characteristics of respondents and distribution of anemia across explanatory variables: Evidence from DHSs of 19 sub-Saharan African countries

Age in years

χ2 = 108.13, p < 0.001

 15–19

10,811 (7.69)

2992 (52.81)

2674 (47.19)

 20–24

29,487 (19.80)

9183 (58.70)

6462 (41.30)

 25–29

35,814 (20.45)

11,310 (59.35)

7746 (40.65)

 30–34

31,562 (18.09)

10,079 (60.22)

6658 (39.78)

 35–39

26,553 (13.99)

8301 (58.74)

5831 (41.26)

 40–44

18,935 (11.39)

5917 (58.55)

4189 (41.45)

 45–49

14,431 (8.60)

4639 (60.35)

3048 (39.65)

Women’s educational level

χ2 = 1400, p < 0.001

 No formal education

71,213 (82.01)

19,126 (51.57)

17,959 (48.43)

 Primary school

55,720 (11.12)

18,580 (64.08)

10,414 (35.92)

 Secondary school

35,524 (6.06)

12,764 (63.31)

7398 (36.69)

 Higher

5136 (0.8)

1951 (69.98)

837 (30.02)

Husband's educational level

χ2 = 1500, p < 0.001

 No formal education

63,323 (79.43)

16,577 (50.58)

16,200 (49.42)

 Primary school

46,825 (12.03)

15,730 (64.81)

8542 (35.19)

 Secondary school

45,673 (7.09)

15,949 (62.39)

9616 (37.61)

 Higher

11,629 (1.45)

4128 (65.35)

2189 (34.65)

Women's occupation

χ2 = 122.76, p < 0.001

 Not working

42,230 (18.49)

14,602 (57.90)

10,616 (42.10)

 Professional or technical or managerial

5770 (1.12)

1917 (66.45)

968 (33.55)

 Agricultural

66,301 (49.72)

19,418 (58.72)

13,653 (41.28)

 Manual

11,985 (6.98)

3560 (63.04)

2087 (36.96)

 Others

41,229 (23.68)

12,906 (58.23)

9256 (41.77)

Wealth index

χ2 = 567.88, p < 0.001

 Poorest

37,255 (18.68)

11,192 (54.54)

9330 (45.46)

 Poor

34,176 (20.48)

10,183 (56.46)

7852 (43.54)

 Middle

32,652 (20.63)

9874 (57.99)

7152 (42.01)

 Rich

31,465 (20.61)

10,119 (60.76)

6536 (39.24)

 Richest

32,045 (19.59)

11,053 (65.83)

5738 (34.17)

Place of residence

χ2 = 49.70, p < 0.001

 Urban

51,703 (21.18)

16,896 (60.60)

10,984 (39.40)

 Rural

115,890 (78.82)

35,525 (58.10)

25,624 (41.90)

Reading of newspaper

χ2 = 22.99,, p < 0.001

 No

12,602 (94.09)

3109 (50.23)

3081 (49.77)

 Yes

790 (5.91)

239 (62.89)

141 (37.11)

Listening to radio

χ2 = 16.33,, p < 0.001

 No

3826 (30.04)

887 (47.03)

999 (52.97)

 Yes

9566 (69.96)

2461 (52.54)

2223 (47.46)

Watching television

χ2 = 23.31,, p < 0.001

 No

9773 (73.18)

2365 (49.16)

2446 (50.84)

 Yes

3619 (26.82)

983 (55.88)

776 (44.12)

Sex of household head

χ2 = 0.4130

p = 0.520

 Male

142,558 (94.19)

43,724 (58.83)

30,594 (41.17)

 Female

25,632 (5.81)

8697 (59.12)

6014 (40.88)

Decision making capacity

χ2 = 752.00, p < 0.001

 No

96,244 (88.03)

26,704 (54.77)

22,051 (45.23)

 Yes

71,219 (11.97)

25,672 (63.86)

14,527 (36.14)

Wife beating attitude

χ2 = 124.99, p < 0.001

 Accept/justify

82,620 (46.33)

25,723 (57.06)

19,357 (42.94)

 Disagree/Not justify

84,903 (53.67)

26,678 (60.75)

17,237 (39.25)

Parity

χ2 = 86.12, p < 0.001

 Zero

10,882 (07.04)

3110 (55.32)

2512 (44.68)

 1–2

51,939 (27.75)

16,740 (60.44)

10,956 (39.56)

 3–4

47,235 (26.04)

14,985 (59.61)

10,154 (40.39)

 5+

57,537 (39.17)

17,586 (57.52)

12,986 (42.48)

Family size

χ2 = 83.51, p < 0.001

  < 5

52,070 (25.32)

17,266 (61.09)

10,997 (38.91)

 5+

115,523 (74.68)

35,155 (57.85)

25,611 (42.15)

Barriers to healthcare access

χ2 = 162.73, p < 0.001

 No

56,307 (20.01)

18,964 (61.79)

11,728 (38.21)

 Yes

111,204 (79.99)

33,443 (57.36)

24,859 (42.64)

Improved sanitation

χ2 = 303.33, p < 0.001

 No

88,343 (71.25)

27,212 (56.25)

21,167 (43.75)

 Yes

79,822 (28.75)

25,200 (62.01)

15,436 (37.99)

Religion

χ2 = 2000, p < 0.001

 Christian

101,456 (26.91)

35,626 (64.71)

19,432 (35.29)

 Muslim

58,004 (63.85)

14,321 (48.89)

14,974 (51.11)

 Others

8658 (9.24)

2453 (52.88)

2186 (47.12)

Contraceptive use

χ2 = 2200, p < 0.001

 No

124,843 (84.98)

35,318 (54.21)

29,829 (45.79)

 Yes

42,750 (15.02)

17,103 (71.61)

6779 (28.39)