Determinants of Anemia Status Among Reproductive Age Women During Pregnancy In Ethiopia: Cross-Sectional Study Design

Abstract

Introduction: Anemia is a major public health problem, affecting more than 56 million women worldwide. During pregnancy, hemoglobin concentrations in venous blood below 11 grams per deciliter have significant adverse effects on the health of pregnant women. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the anemia status of the participants and the factors that lead to anemia. Methods: Data for this study were obtained from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey (January 18, 2016, to June 27, 2016). A total of 1053 pregnant women were included in the analysis. The risk factors for anemia status were analyzed using a partial-proportional odds model. Results: The study included 1053 pregnant women, with 32, 214, and 395 suffering from severe, moderate, and mild anemia, respectively. Somalia had the highest proportion of severely anemic people, while Tigray had the lowest. The effect changing in different regions of the sample had various effects on the outcome variable. For example, in the Somali region, the probability of subjects with severe anemia increased by 0.027 (AMPE= 0.027, P = 0.015) percentage points when compared to their counterparts. The effect of changing iron-taking status by one percent on average across the sample decreased by 1.6% (AMPE = -0.016, P= 0.001), 3.7% (AMPE = -0.037, P = 0.001), and 3% (AMPE = -0.030, P = 0.003) points, respectively, for participants in the severe, moderate, and mild classes. The effect of changing place of residence and parity decreased for those in the non-anemic group, but it increased for the wealth index (richest household). Anemia decreased with higher education level [primary: (AMPE = 0.032, P = 0.002), secondary: (AMPE = 0.069, P = 0.025), higher: (AMPE = 0.176, P = 0.000)]. Conclusion: Finally, the authors concluded that iron intake, educational status, wealth index (richest households), place of residence, parity, and selected regions have been identified as prognostic factors for anemia status in pregnant women aged 15 to 49 years. Therefore, action on these predictors is needed to improve anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia. Furthermore, AMPE should be used with greater motivation to interpret the logistic regression results.