Prevalence, Severity, and Correlates of Anaemia in Pregnancy among Antenatal Attendees in Warri, South-Southern Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional and Hospital-Based Study

Abstract

Introduction. Anaemia in pregnancy affects about half of all pregnant women globally and constitutes an important reproductive health issue. The World Health Organization estimates that the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy varies from 53.8% to 90.2% in developing countries and 8.3% to 23% in developed countries. Anaemia in pregnancy is common in developing countries and prevalence statistics required for its effective management and control is not adequately available in Nigeria. Thus, this study seeks to provide prevalence statistics of anaemia in pregnancy for the study region and its severity and highlight some possible correlates. Methods. A total of 218 pregnant women were recruited from the antenatal clinic of Central Hospital Warri using simple random technique after approval from the institutional review board and consent from the participants. Data on sociodemographics, economic status, and clinical history were collected using a pretested structured interviewer’s questionnaire. Participant’s haematocrit levels were estimated using standard laboratory techniques and anaemia was diagnosed using WHO-recommended cutoff. Results. The overall prevalence of anaemia was 37.6%. This prevalence dropped to 10.6% when a cutoff of less than 30% haematocrit was used. There was a direct relationship between haematocrit values and the participants’ age while mild anaemia accounted for the bulk (72%) of the anaemic cases. Participants younger than 20 years of age gave the highest age-based prevalence while parity-based prevalence was even among subgroups. Participants without formal education and those who were unemployed accounted for the highest prevalence in their different categories. Conclusion. Based on the findings from our study, anaemia in pregnancy is still of primary public health concern if WHO cutoff is used for the diagnosis. However, the reduction observed when less than 30% haematocrit was used tags our study zone to be of moderate severity. Although all variables lacked statistical significance, younger age, no formal education, and unemployment were highlighted to be predisposing factors.

Proportion of anaemia and factors associated with it among the attendees of the antenatal clinic in a teaching institute of northeast India

“…Omote et al . reported it to be 30.65 ± 5.52 years, which was much higher than the present study[ 25 ] In that study, the youngest was 12 years old and the oldest was 47 years, whereas in the present study youngest was 17 years and the oldest was 38 years old. The highest proportion of anaemia (63.3%) in the present study was observed among the <25 years age group.…”

Estimation the Prevalence of Anemia in Pregnancy in Tuz City, Saladin Governorate

“…This finding could be explained by poor antenatal care and low health educational level. Omote V. and et al (16) estimated that all anemic pregnant women in their study had mild or moderate anemia. Lin L. and et al (11) found that anemia in pregnant women were more prevalent in 3 rd trimester and more severe in 2 nd trimester.…”

“…(10) ,Wemakor A. (12) ,Youssry M. and et al (13) , Pinho-Pompeu M. and et al (14) , Anlaakuu P. and Anto F. (15) , Omote V. and et al (16) , Kassa G. and et al (17) , Karaoglu L. and et al (7) , Asrie F. (1) , Lebso M. and et al (18) , Lin L. and et al (11) , Stephen G. and et al (2) , and Sritippayawan S. and et al (8) estimated a prevalence rate of 58.7%, 50.6%,42%, 41.27%, 40.8%, 37.6%, 31.66%, 27.1%, 25.2%, 23.5%, 23.5%, 18%, and 17.5% respectively.…”

A study on anemia and its risk factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic of a rural medical college of West Bengal

“…and ICMR Taskforce Multicenter Study[ 12 18 19 20 ] On the contrary, few recent studies done in African continent found the prevalence of anemia in pregnant women as low as 25.8% to 37.6%. [ 21 22 ] This variation may be due to various socio-demographic and comorbid conditions. Also, as our study participants are mainly poor from tribal population with low socioeconomic status, therefore the prevalence of anemia during pregnancy may be remarkably high.…”