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Association of pica with anemia and gastrointestinal distress among pregnant women in Zanzibar, Tanzania.


ABSTRACT: The etiology of pica, the purposive consumption of non-food substances, is not understood, despite its ubiquity among gravidae. We examined correlates of pica in a representative obstetric population (n = 2,368) on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania to examine proposed etiologies. Cross-sectional data were collected on socioeconomic characteristics, food intake, geophagy (earth consumption), amylophagy (raw starch consumption), anthropometry, iron status, parasitic burden, and gastrointestinal morbidities. Amylophagy was reported by 36.3%, geophagy by 5.2%, and any pica by 40.1%. There was a strong additive relationship of geophagy and amylophagy with lower hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and iron deficiency anemia. By multivariate logistic regression, any pica was associated with Hb level (odds ratio [OR] = 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.72-0.81), nausea (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.20-1.73), and abdominal pain (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.01-1.48). These striking results indicate that the nature of the relationship between pica, pregnancy, gastrointestinal distress, and iron deficiency anemia merits further investigation.

SUBMITTER: Young SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2912591 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Association of pica with anemia and gastrointestinal distress among pregnant women in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Young Sera L SL   Khalfan Sabra S SS   Farag Tamer H TH   Kavle Justine A JA   Ali Said M SM   Hajji Hamad H   Rasmussen Kathleen M KM   Pelto Gretel H GH   Tielsch James M JM   Stoltzfus Rebecca J RJ  

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 20100701 1


The etiology of pica, the purposive consumption of non-food substances, is not understood, despite its ubiquity among gravidae. We examined correlates of pica in a representative obstetric population (n = 2,368) on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania to examine proposed etiologies. Cross-sectional data were collected on socioeconomic characteristics, food intake, geophagy (earth consumption), amylophagy (raw starch consumption), anthropometry, iron status, parasitic burden, and gastrointestinal mor  ...[more]

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