Prevalence of Anemia among Jordanian Pregnant Women and the Effect of Early Pregnancy on Alkaline Phosphatase Activity

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1030 pregnant women in the age of 16-40 years for the assessment of their hemoglobin status. One hundred pregnant women in their first trimester were selected from the whole sample to study the effect of their pregnancy on alkaline phosphatase activity. The overall prevalence of anemia and the mean hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations in the investigated sample were found to be 56.7% and 9.8±1.4g/dL, respectively. The highest prevalence of severe anemia was found among pregnant women of the Eastern region as well as among pregnant women of third trimester. The prevalence of anemia was found lower among pregnant women in the developed region (Amman; 41.4%) than in other less developed regions in particular Eastern, Southern and Western being 54.0%, 63.4% and 67.9%, respectively. The obtained results of the study also showed that anemia was greater among pregnant women of age 16-19 years. Anemia was of higher prevalence among multipara than among primigravida. Prevalence of anemia was greater the more advanced the gestation. The activity of alkaline phosphatase was normal in 80.0% of the investigated sample, where as 20.0% of the sample showed extremely high concentrations of alkaline phosphatase. The significant increase in alkaline phosphatase activity (p<0.01) accompanied the early pregnancy complications such as diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, proteinuria and diabetes with hypertension. This suggests that alkaline phosphatase activity could be used as a monitor for status of pregnancy in its first trimester. keywords: Anemia, pregnancy, alkaline phosphatase activity, Jordan.