Estimation of Hemoglobin Levels in Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women in Rafha city, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a global health problem especially affecting pregnant and non-pregnant women. Among many different causes of anemia, iron deficiency anemia is the most common cause. Hemoglobin concentration measurement is among the most commonly performed blood tests, usually as part of a complete blood count.
 Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Rafha Central Hospital and three associated health centers. Pregnant and none pregnant women (400) were included in the study. The data were collected by using questionnaire prepared by the investigator in Arabic language. Informed consents were taken prior to taking data from each participant.
 Results: Out of the 400 women enrolled in this study, 235 were pregnant. Majority of the participants were married (86%), and 45% were university graduates. Most of the participants (77.25%) were in the anemic range. The prevalence of anemia was almost equally distributed among pregnant (75.31%) and non-pregnant (80%) women. The prevalence of anemia was significantly associated with the use of tea, coffee and soft drinks.
 Discussion and conclusion: Our results show much higher prevalence of anemia than reported by many other studies done inside and outside of Saudi Arabia. We conclude that anemia prevalence in the region is quite large. People must adopt eating and drinking habits which positively affect the absorption of iron from the food and therefore, increase hemoglobin levels in the body.

تقدير مستوى الزنك في النساء الحوامل اللاتي يعانين من فقر الدم بعوز الحديد وعلاقاته بتركيز الهيموجلوبين

“…It is related to increased maternal and child mortality and morbidity in low-income countries [11] In our study, out of 152 pregnant women 90 of them were anaemic (Hb Less than 11) with the prevalence of 59%, This finding was consistent with a study in Sudan were the prevalence was 53.0% [12] and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where it was 55.6% [13] , but higher than the studies conducted in Ethiopia [14], and Uganda [15]. However, it is lower than that found by A-Elbasit et al in Rafha city in Saudi Arabia where they found the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women more than 70% [16]. Such geographical variations of anaemia across the countries might be attributable to the difference in food hepatis and cultural beliefs about dietary consumption during pregnancy, the occurrence of communicable diseases and the difference in the availability of healthcare facilities.…”

“…Zinc and iron are the most important trace elements in homeostasis. Iron and zinc have important roles in heme structure, iron absorption, iron transport and exhibit competitive inhibition in transport and bioavailability [15][16]. Zinc acts as a catalyst in heme metabolism being part of GFi-1B zinc finger protein structure, which is a major regulator in erythroid cell growth by modulating gene expression specific to erythroid series, performs transcriptional regulation during erythropoiesis [22].…”