Anaemia in pregnant adolescent girls with malaria and practicing pica

Freda Dzifa Intiful, Edwin Kwame Wiredu, George Awuku Asare, Matilda Asante, David Nana Adjei

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction: Pregnancy during the adolescent period is challenging mainly because of the nutritional demands of both the adolescent and pregnancy period. The risk for anaemia increases especially in developing countries such as Ghana where malaria is endemic and the practice of pica is common. In this study, we sought to determine the prevalence of anaemia, pica practice and malaria infection among pregnant adolescent girls and assess the extent to which these factors are associated. Methods: Two hundred and sixty five (265) pregnant adolescent girls were recruited from three hospitals in Accra. Haemoglobin levels, malaria infection and the practice of pica were assessed. Pearson’s Chi squared tests were used to determine associations and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the odds of being anaemic. Significance was set at p≤0.05. Results: Anaemia prevalence was 76% with severity ranging from mild (47.8%) to severe (0.8%). About 27.5% were moderately anaemic. Pica was practiced in only 9.1% of the girls. Malaria infection was prevalent in 17.7% of the girls. The logistic regression analysis indicated that pregnant girls with malaria infection were 3.56 times more likely to be anaemic when compared to those without malaria. Also, those who practiced pica were 1.23 times more likely to be anaemic when compared to those who did not practice pica. Conclusion: Anaemia is very prevalent in pregnant adolescent girls and is a public health problem. Drastic measures should be taken to reduce the high prevalence.

Original languageEnglish
Article number96
JournalPan African Medical Journal
Volume24
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 May 2016

Keywords

  • Adolescent
  • Anaemia
  • Ghana
  • Malaria
  • Pica
  • Pregnant

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Anaemia in pregnant adolescent girls with malaria and practicing pica'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this