Nutritional status among women whose pregnancy outcome was afflicted with neural tube defects in Tigray region of Ethiopia

Magnitude and Associated Factors of Neural Tube Defects in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…From these studies, one study from the Tigray region revealed that the incidence of NTDs was related to dietary diversity scores. 20 The other case-control study done 41 at selected hospitals of East and West Gojjam zones of the Amhara region found 58 NTDs from a total of 100 cases (all forms of congenital anomalies). This study revealed that folic acid supplementation, being alcoholic, and the use of herbal medicine was associated with all forms of congenital malformations.…”

“…To our knowledge, the current work is the first systematic review and meta-analysis that explored the prevalence of NTDs and associated factors among children in Ethiopia. After intense searching, data were explored and analyzed from a total of 15 studies 20,[23][24][25][26][27]29,31,32,[36][37][38][39][40][41] conducted in different regions of the country. From these studies, 10 studies 23,24,26,27,29,31,[36][37][38][39] were used to compute the pooled prevalence of NTDs and 6 studies 20,25,26,32,40,41 were used for identifying the risk factor of NTDs.…”

“…56,57 Besides, unplanned pregnancy is one risk factor that contributes to the development of NTDs and could be due to inadequate intake of folic acid secondary to lack of follow-up in an antenatal program in Ethiopia where iron and folate is supplemented. Moreover, one study 20 reported that lower dietary diversity score in the mother was a risk factor for the development of NTDs.…”

“…24 It is also stated in other primary surveys in Ethiopia that there are sizeable numbers of pregnancies associated with NTDs. 20,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] These findings are inconsistent and inconclusive for policy makers and stakeholders. Therefore, the pooled prevalence, patterns, and risk factors for NTDs in Ethiopia were explored in this systematic review and meta-analysis.…”

“… 15 Other risk factors such as dietary deficiency, poverty, obesity, diabetes, substance abuse, fever during the preconception period, and medicinal drugs also have contributed to the occurrence of NTDs. 16 - 20 The activation of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 in hyperglycemic conditions, which could lead to activation of the apoptosis mediator caspase 8 by stimulating the FoxO3a transcription factor, is found to have associated with NTDs. 21 The recent study finding from Botswana also revealed that exposure to dolutegravir is associated with the incidence of NTDs.…”