Prevalence and risk factors of intestinal parasitic infections among pregnant women in Taiz Governorate, Yemen: A hospital-based study.

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections in pregnant women have been associated with severe adverse outcomes such as anemia, low birth weight, and mother and fetus morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection and its associated risk factors among pregnant women in Taiz, Yemen.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2022 and January 2023. Sociodemographic and other explanatory variables were obtained via face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The wet-mount and formol-ether concentration techniques were applied to identify the IPIs. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 20, and p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. An analysis of descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression was conducted. A p-value < 0.05 was deemed statistically significant. The study included a total of 393 pregnant women.

Results: Of the 393 pregnant women screened for intestinal parasites, 144 (36.6 %) had at least one parasite. The most common intestinal parasite was Giardia lamblia (12.2 %), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (10.9 %), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (7.4 %), Enterobius vermicularis (14.3 %), and Hymenolepis nana (1.8 %). Being a farmer (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.69-4.26, p = 0:003) and drinking from unsafe water wells, streams, rain, and dams (AOR = 2:6, 95% CI: 1.68-4.25, p ≤ 0:001) were significantly associated with IPIs.

Conclusion: Pregnant women in the study area still face a severe health burden due to intestinal parasitic infection. Therefore, it is recommended that health education should be improved, and safe tap water should be provided to pregnant women to reduce the incidence of IPIs.