Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in indigenous communities from the Peruvian central jungle: a case–control study

Abstract

Background Adolescent pregnancy carries a high risk of severe health issues for both the mother and the newborn. Worldwide, 21 million adolescents give birth every year, with high percentages in Latin America. Most of the risk factors are met in indigenous communities, which is an underrepresented and poorly studied population. We aimed to assess the determinants of adolescent pregnancy in indigenous communities from the Peruvian central jungle. Methods Through a case–control study, female adolescents aged 13 to 19 years old from seven indigenous communities of the Peruvian central jungle were interviewed. Adolescents with (cases) and with no (controls) pregnancy history, such as current pregnancy, children and abortion, fulfilled our eligible criteria. Our instrument explored: sociodemographic, adolescent and family characteristics, as well as perceptions of adolescent pregnancy. We performed a penalized maximum likelihood logistic regression analysis to obtain Odds Ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results We enrolled 34 cases and 107 controls. Overall, 53.9% were 15 to 19 years old. We found a significant association of being 15–19 years old (OR = 6.88, 95% CI 2.38–19.86, p < 0.0001) and an elementary school level of instruction (OR = 5.59, 95% CI 1.95–16.06, p = 0.001) with the risk of adolescent pregnancy. A marginal statistical significance between having five to six siblings and adolescent pregnancy was also reported (OR = 2.70, 95% CI 0.85–8.61, p = 0.094). Furthermore, adolescents with sexual and reproductive health communication with parents had a lower risk of adolescent pregnancy (OR = 0.17, 95% CI 0.06–0.47, p = 0.001). Conclusion Our results suggest that public health and educational efforts should be age-specific focused within indigenous communities of the Peruvian central jungle, encouraging parents to talk about sexual and reproductive health topics with adolescents.

The downstream effects of COVID-19 on adolescent girls in the Peruvian Amazon: qualitative findings on how the pandemic affected education and reproductive health

“…59 Notably, previous research in Peru's central jungle region, as demonstrated in a case-control study, highlighted the protective effect of adolescent SRH communication with parents against AP. 60 While our study sample was of a different indigenous background, this finding underscores the significance of parent-adolescent communication and parentsourced SRH education in AP prevention.…”

Faktor-Faktor yang Memengaruhi Kesehatan Reproduksi Remaja

“…Temuan penelitian ini mengungkapkan bahwa faktor yang mempengaruhi kesehatan reproduksi remaja adalah komunikasi dengan orang tua hal ini sejalan dengan penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Abera (2023) bahwa remaja putri yang tidak melakukan diskusi terbuka dengan orang tua mereka tentang kesehatan reproduksi tiga kali lebih beresiko melakukan perilaku seksual dibandingkan dengan remaja putri yang melakukan diskusi terbuka dengan orang tua mereka. Penelitian lainnya juga sejalan dengan hasil tersebut yaitu kurangnya komunikasi kesehatan reproduksi antara orang tua dan remaja beresiko dua kali lipat remaja mengalami kehamilan dini (Mejia et al, 2021).…”

Prevalence and determinants of repeat pregnancy among adolescent girls in selected health areas of the Limbe Health District of Cameroon: A community-based cross-sectional study

“…Several factors contribute to the high prevalence of repeat pregnancy among teenagers. One important determinant is the lack of comprehensive sexual education (Mejia et al, 2021). Research by Kirby et al (2017) suggests that teenagers who receive comprehensive sexual education are less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors and have a lower likelihood of experiencing repeat pregnancies.…”