Prevalence and risk factors for anaemia in pregnant women of eastern Sudan

The prevalence and possible risk factors for anaemia were investigated in 744 pregnant Sudanese women attending the antenatal clinic of New Halfa teaching hospital, eastern Sudan between October 2003 and April 2004. Of those, 466 (62.6%) had anaemia (haemoglobin [Hb]: < 11 gm/dl); 52.4% had mild anaemia (Hb: 9.0-10.9gm/dl); 8.1% had moderate anaemia (Hb: 7.0-8.9gm/dl); and 2.2% had severe anaemia (Hb: < 7 gm/dl), respectively. The prevalence of anaemia (73.2%) was significantly high in grandmultigravidae. Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that age and parity were not significantly associated with anaemia. Malaria (OR = 4.5, 95% CI 2.5-8.1; P < 0.0001) and pica (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.05-2.6; P = 0.03) were the risk factors for anaemia. Thus, preventive measures against malaria (chemoprophylaxis and insecticide-treated bednets) may be needed for all pregnant women irrespective of their age or parity. (c) 2005 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.