Risk factors associated with anemia and iron deficiency among Kuwaiti pregnant women

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was carried out to indentify the risk factors of anemia and iron deficiency in Kuwaiti pregnant women. Pregnant women (n = 465) aged 18–47 years, of 4–39 weeks at gestation were recruited during antenatal visits from six health facilities in Kuwait. Socio-demographic, pregnancy-related and dietary information were collected. Hemoglobin, serum ferritin and serum C-reactive protein concentrations were determined. Logistic regression analysis revealed that iron deficiency and not taking iron-folate tablets or taking them occasionally were the two most important risk factors associated with anemia. Pregnant women with higher gestational age, short birth spacing ( ≤ 2 years), not taking iron-folate tablets or taking them occasionally, not consuming fruit juice, and consuming brown bread, tea and/or coffee were significant risk factors associated with iron deficiency. In conclusion, various factors including dietary habits appeared to be associated with poor iron status, which is the most important risk factor for anemia among Kuwaiti pregnant women.

Keywords::

• Anemia
• iron deficiency
• iron-deficiency anemia
• risk factors
• pregnant women
• Kuwait

Declarations of interest: The authors express sincere thanks to Dr Samira Al-Mehanna, Dr Hadeya Al-Shatti, Dr Sameera El-Baghly, Dr Abubakr Hegazi and Dr Fareeda Taleb of the participating maternity clinics, Ministry of Health, Kuwait for helping with pregnancy-related data collection. They also thank Ms Prasanna Prakash and the participating dieticians of the Food and Nutrition Administration, Ministry of Health, Kuwait for helping with dietary data collection and data entry and cleaning. Special thanks to Professor Carol Ghazzi for her valuable comments and advice. None of the authors have any conflicts of interest. The study was funded by Kuwait University, Kuwait (project number: WF01/08).