Prevalence and Risk Factors of Anemia among a Sample of Pregnant Females Attending Primary Health Care Centers in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Anemia in pregnancy is associated with increased rate of maternal and perinatal mortality, premature delivery, low birth weight and other adverse outcomes. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of anemia among pregnant females attending primary health care centers in Makkah, Saudi Arabia and to assess the etiologic risk factors contributing to it during pregnancy. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 randomly selected pregnant females; data were collected using an interview questionnaire to collect data about socio-demographic characteristics, medical, obstetric and dietary histories. Hematological indicators were obtained from the last recorded values in the patients’ files. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin level of less than 11.0g/dl. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16. The observed prevalence rate of anemia found in this study was (39%) and was higher among females from 25 to less than 35 years, house wives and third trimester pregnant females. Multivariate analysis revealed that, low level of education,decreased birth spacing and history of anemia before pregnancy were associated with increased risk of anemia (p<0.05, OR = 18.821, 10.582 and 3.362 respectively). On the other hand, low parity and first trimester females had lower risk of anemia (p<0.05 OR = 0.165, 0.088, respectively). No association between the frequency of consumption of nearly all the studied food items and anemia was found. Emphasis should be placed on pregnant women since they were particularly at risk. Health professionals must pay more attention to teach pregnant women good long-term dietary habits as a part of an overall approach to health promotion.