Prevalence of anemia and associated factors among pregnant women in Tobruk city

Abstract

Anemia is a prevalent health problem worldwide. Iron supplementation has been the preferred intervention to improve iron stores and prevent anemia among pregnant women. Traditionally, gestational anemia has been prevented with daily iron supplements throughout pregnancy. This research was conducted to assess anemia rate among pregnant women in Tobruk city and to verify it association with woman age. Only 322 blood records of pregnant women were used and collected from Ibn Rushed Medical Laboratory center, Tobruk city, covered the period from October 2023 to January 2024. The blood sample was collected in test tube with EDITA and well shake, then the tube was put in CBC machine (MANDRY, HD36). The data were analyzed using SPSS software, the analysis of variance was performed to verify the effect of age, while the chi square test was applied to detect the association between age and hemoglobin deficiency. The results revealed that 70% of the studied pregnant women were strapped for hemoglobin deficiency. The averages hematocrit %, RBC count and  hemoglobin level were 32.01±3.52, 3.91±0.41 and 10.33±1.17, respectively. The analysis of variance showed insignificant (P>0.05) effect of age on hematocrit %, RBC count and  hemoglobin level. Moreover, the chi square test revealed insignificant (P>0.05) association between age of pregnant woman and hemoglobin deficiency. The study concluded that prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin deficiency) among pregnant women in Tobruk city pregnancy was high (70%) and there no association between woman age and hemoglobin deficiency.