Africa is experiencing a rapid increase in adult obesity and associated cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs). The H3Africa AWI-Gen Collaborative Centre was established to examine genomic and environmental factors that influence body composition, body fat distribution and CMD risk, with the aim to provide insights towards effective treatment and intervention strategies. It provides a research platform of over 10 500 participants, 40–60 years old, from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. Following a process that involved community engagement, training of project staff and participant informed consent, participants were administered detailed questionnaires, anthropometric measurements were taken and biospecimens collected. This generated a wealth of demographic, health history, environmental, behavioural and biomarker data. The H3Africa SNP array will be used for genome-wide association studies. AWI-Gen is building capacity to perform large epidemiological, genomic and epigenomic studies across several African counties and strives to become a valuable resource for research collaborations in Africa.
BackgroundIn spite of global decline in under-five mortality, the goal of achieving MDG 4 still remains largely unattained in low and middle income countries as the year 2015 closes-in. To accelerate the pace of mortality decline, proven interventions with high impact need to be implemented to help achieve the goal of drastically reducing childhood mortality. This paper explores the association between socio-economic and demographic factors and under-five mortality in an impoverished region in rural northern Ghana.MethodsWe used survey data on 3975 women aged 15–49 who have ever given birth. First, chi-square test was used to test the association of social, economic and demographic characteristics of mothers with the experience of under-five death. Subsequently, we ran a logistic regression model to estimate the relative association of factors that influence childhood mortality after excluding variables that were not significant at the bivariate level.ResultsFactors that significantly predict under-five mortality included mothers’ educational level, presence of co-wives, age and marital status. Mothers who have achieved primary or junior high school education were 45% less likely to experience under-five death than mothers with no formal education at all (OR = 0.55, p < 0.001). Monogamous women were 22% less likely to experience under-five deaths than mothers in polygamous marriages (OR = 0.78, p = 0.01). Similarly, mothers who were between the ages of 35 and 49 were about eleven times more likely to experience under-five deaths than those below the age of 20 years (OR = 11.44, p < 0.001). Also, women who were married had a 27% less likelihood (OR = 0.73, p = 0.01) of experiencing an under-five death than those who were single, divorced or widowed.ConclusionTaken independently, maternal education, age, marital status and presence of co-wives are associated with childhood mortality. The relationship of these indicators with women’s autonomy, health seeking behavior, and other factors that affect child survival merit further investigation so that interventions could be designed to foster reductions in child mortality by considering the needs and welfare of women including the need for female education, autonomy and socioeconomic well-being.
Background Anaemia in pregnancy is associated with adverse obstetric outcomes. When detected early in pregnancy, it can be treated; however, information on its prevalence and associated factors is limited in rural Ghana. Aim The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and maternal factors associated with anaemia in pregnancy at first antenatal care (ANC) visits. Setting The study was conducted in the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital, a secondary referral facility in the Kassena-Nankana district in rural northern Ghana. Methods A retrospective analysis of antenatal clinic records of pregnant women collected from January to December 2014. All pregnant women initiating antenatal clinic, who had initial haemoglobin (Hb) levels measured, were included in the study. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to determine factors associated with anaemia at the initiation of ANC. Results We analysed data from 506 women with median Hb of 11.1 g/dL (IQR 7.31–13.8). The median gestational age at booking was 14 weeks (5–36 weeks). The prevalence of anaemia was 42.7%, with 95% confidence interval (CI) [38.4–47.1], and was high among teenage mothers (52% [34.9–67.8]), mothers who booked in the third trimester (55% [33.6–74.7]) and grand multiparous women (58% [30.7–81.6]). Factors associated with anaemia included grand multiparity (odds ratio [OR] = 1.94 with 95% CI [1.58–2.46]), booking during the third trimester (OR = 2.06 [1.78–2.21]) and mother who were underweight compared to those with normal weight (OR = 3.17 [1.19–8.32]). Conclusion Burden of anaemia in pregnancy is still high in rural northern Ghana. We advocate further strengthening of the primary health care system to improve early access to ANC delivery. Keywords anaemia in pregnancy; booking visit; maternal and child health; Navrongo; rural; Ghana.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.