Author/Authors :
Lashkardoost, Hossein Department of Public Health - North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran , Mohammad Doust, Hadi Department of Internal Medicine - North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran , Saadati, Hassan Department of Epidemiology - School of Public Health - Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Nazari, Zahra Student Research Committee - North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran , Sanayee Joshaghan, Masoumeh Student Research Committee - North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran , Hamedi, Andishe Department of Epidemiology - Shirvan Center of Higher Health Education - North Khorasan University of MedicalSciences, Bojnurd, Iran
Abstract :
Introduction: Anemia is one of the major public health problems among pregnant women in the world. It causes low birth weight and maternal mortality during pregnancies. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among pregnant women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 pregnant women in Shirvan city, Iran in 2015. For sampling, each of the three centers in this city were considered as a single cluster and the number of required participants from each center was selected proportional to the number of pregnant women covered by each center using systematic approach. Data were collected from health records of families using a checklist were analyzed by descriptive statistics and appropriate statistical tests including chi- square, Fisher's exact, and McNemar's test. Results: The age mean ± SD of the pregnant women was 29.9 ± 5.3 with a range of 16-40 years. Most of pregnant women were in the age group of 18-35 (84.5%) years, had high school education (65.8%), and were housewives (87.8%). The prevalence of anemia in pregnant women in the first and third trimester were 4.75% (CI95%: 2.66%-6.84%) and 16% (CI95%: 12.40%- 19.60%), respectively. Prevalence of anemia increased in the third trimester (p<0.01). Conclusion: Shirvan is one of the areas with a mild prevalence of anemia. However, iron deficiency anemia, as a nutritional disorder can be prevented. Therefore, community-based interventions should be implemented considering the identified associated factors.
