Anemia in pregnant Sudanese women. Community based study.

nemia adversely affects pregnancy and its outcome.1,2 Many risk factors for anemia have been identified in pregnancy.3 Although, it is known that around 40% of the women presenting to the labor room in Central Sudan are probably anemic,4 there are no published data regarding anemia, its epidemiology and the risk factors during pregnancy in Sudan. We performed a community-based study to estimate the incidence, timing and the risk factors for anemia during pregnancy in a population of Sudanese women in the Eastern Sudan. Pregnant women in Alhara Aloula and Al-Thaniya (New Halfa sugar factory) were approached to participate in the study in August 2003. After a verbal consent, a fixed questionnaire containing sociodemographic characters, obstetrical history, as well as the known risk factors of anemia was filled, including history of abortion, lack of antenatal care (ANC), iron supplementation, use of oral contraceptive pills (OCP), bed net use, history of malaria, history of schistosomiasis, and pica. All patients were examined clinically, to detect signs of anemia if present and the mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) was measured. Spleen was palpated and the gestational age was confirmed by ultrasound in cases of discrepancy. Hemoglobin (Hb) was estimated by colorimeter (WPA, United Kingdom) and blood films for malaria were prepared using Giemsa stain. A well trained technician who was blinded to the women’s data carried out the laboratory investigations. Data was entered in a microcomputer using SPSS for windows. The students t-test, compared the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the age, gestational age, MUAC and Hb. The odds ratio were calculated for the risk factors. a p≤0.05 and odds ratio >1 were considered significant. One hundred and nineteen pregnant women at the mean ± SD gestational age of 26.2 ± 7.6 weeks were enrolled in the study. Thirty-one (26.1%) were anemic (Hb < 9.5 g/dl) and 1/31 (3.2%) was severely anemic (Hb=5.6 g/dl); of these anemic A Brief Communication