Prevalence of Anemia, Iron Deficiency Anemia and its Socio-Demographic Factors among Pregnant Women in Garmian Province, Kurdistan region of Iraq

Abstract

Anemia is the most common hematologic abnormality in pregnancy. Maternal anemia is associated with adverse fetal, neonatal, and childhood outcomes. This study aims to determine the prevalence of anemia, and iron deficiency anemia (IDA), the severity of the condition, and study the effect of some socio-demographic factors on pregnant women in Garmian province. The study was conducted among 157 pregnant women in Garmian province between 17 and 49 years old. Participants completed a questionnaire that included sociodemographic characteristics, disease, and gestational age. A hematological evaluation, including a complete blood count (CBC) and serum for ferritin testing. Results of this study have shown that the prevalence of anemia and IDA were 34.4% and 15.3%, respectively. Almost three-quarters of the pregnant women had mild anemia, while 31 % of the subjects had moderate anemia, and about 60% of the participants were diagnosed with normocytic anemia. The second trimester had the highest prevalence, with 51.9% for the anemic and 45.8% for IDA subjects, while the first trimester showed the lowest prevalence, with 14.8 % for anemic and 12.5% for IDA subjects. Age, occupation, gravidity with anemia, and iron deficiency anemia did not make a significant difference. Moreover, there was no significant difference in blood indices between anemic and IDA participants. The serum ferritin level was unaffected by the pregnancy trimesters.