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Suboptimal iron deficiency screening in pregnancy and the impact of socioeconomic status in a high-resource setting.

ABSTRACT: Iron deficiency (ID) anemia in pregnancy is associated with poor maternal and childhood outcomes, yet ferritin testing, the standard test for ID, is not considered part of routine prenatal bloodwork in Canada. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 44 552 pregnant patients with prenatal testing at community laboratories in Ontario, Canada, to determine the prevalence of ferritin testing over 5 years. Secondary objectives were to determine the prevalence and severity of ID and to identify clinical and demographic variables that influence the likelihood of ID screening. A total of 59.4% of patients had a ferritin checked during pregnancy; 71.4% were ordered in the first trimester, when the risk of ID is lowest. Excluding patients with abnormally elevated ferritins, 25.2% were iron insufficient (30-44 µg/L) and 52.8% were iron deficient (≤29 µg/L) at least once in pregnancy. A total of 8.3% were anemic (hemoglobin <105 g/L). The proportion of anemic patients with a subsequent ferritin test in pregnancy ranged from 22% to 67% in the lowest and highest anemia severity categories, respectively. Lower annual household income was negatively associated with the odds of a ferritin test; compared with those in the fifth (ie, highest) income quintile, the odds of ferritin testing for patients in the first, second, and fourth quintiles were 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74-0.91), 0.82 (95% CI, 0.74-0.91), and 0.86 (95% CI, 0.77-0.97), respectively. These data highlight gaps in prenatal care and issues of health equity that warrant harmonization of obstetrical guidelines to recommend routine ferritin testing in pregnancy.

SUBMITTER: Teichman J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8759118 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background & aimsLow iron stores may protect from malaria infection, therefore improving iron stores in early pregnancy in line with current recommendations could increase malaria susceptibility. To test this hypothesis we compared iron biomarkers and red cell indices in nulliparae and primigravidae who participated in a randomized controlled trial of long-term weekly iron supplementation.MethodsCross-sectional and longitudinal data analysis from a randomized controlled trial of long-term weekly iron supplementation in rural Burkina Faso. Malaria parasitaemia was monitored and biomarkers and red cell indices measured at study end-points: plasma ferritin, transferrin receptor (sTfR), zinc protoporphyrin, hepcidin, sTfR/log10 ferritin ratio, body iron, haemoglobin, red cell distribution width; mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration/volume, and C-reactive protein. Correlation coefficients between biomarkers and red cell indices were determined. A regression correction approach based on ferritin was used to estimate iron body stores, allowing for inflammation. Body iron differences were compared between nulliparae and primigravidae, and the association determined of iron biomarkers and body iron stores with malaria.ResultsIron and haematological indices of 972 nulliparae (mean age 16.5 years) and 314 primigravidae (median gestation 18 weeks) were available. Malaria prevalence was 54.0% in primigravidae and 41.8% in nulliparae (relative risk 1.28, 95% CI 1.13-1.45, P < 0.001), anaemia prevalence 69.7% and 43.4% (P < 0.001), and iron deficient erythropoiesis (low body iron) 8.0% and 11.7% (P = 0.088) respectively. Unlike other biomarkers the sTfR/log10 ferritin ratio showed no correlation with inflammation as measured by CRP. Most biomarkers indicated reduced iron deficiency in early pregnancy, with the exception of haemoglobin. Body iron increased by 0.6-1.2 mg/kg in early gestation, did not differ by malaria status in nulliparae, but was higher in primigravidae with malaria (6.5 mg/kg versus 5.0 mg/kg; relative risk 1.53, 95% CI 0.67-2.38, P < 0.001).ConclusionIn primigravidae, early pregnancy haemoglobin was not a good indicator of requirement for iron supplementation, which could be detrimental given the association of better iron status with increased malaria infection.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov:NCT01210040. Until placed in a public repository, data relating to the current study can be requested from the corresponding author and will be made available following an end user data agreement and sponsor approval.

Project description:BACKGROUND:The impact of socioeconomic status on health has been established via a broad body of literature, largely from high-income countries. Investigative efforts in low- and middle-income countries have suffered from a lack of reporting standardization required to draw comparisons across countries of varying economic strata. In this study we aimed to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic status on emergency department outcomes in a low-income African country using international data classification systems. METHODS:This was a retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary care center in northern Madagascar. Data were abstracted from paper charts into an electronic registry using Integrated Public Use Microdata Series codes for occupation, Nam-Powers-Boyd (NPB) scores for socioeconomic status, and Clinical Classifications Software ICD-9 equivalents for diagnosis. Outcome was dichotomized to the combined disposition of death or transfer directly to operating theater (OT) versus discharge. We used t-tests to compare baseline characteristics between these groups. We used chi-square analysis to test the association between occupational class and diagnosis. Finally, multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed examining the impact of NPB score on death/OT outcome, adjusting for age, gender, diagnosis and occupation. RESULTS:5271 patients were seen during the 21-month study period with a death/OT rate of 9.7%. Older age and male gender were more common in death/OT patients (both p<0.001), and were shown to have positive odds ratios for this outcome in multivariate modeling (p<0.006 and <0.001). Occupational class was found to influence diagnosis for all classes (p<0.001) except Sales and Office. Adjusting for these 3 factors, we found a strong independent association between NPB quartile and death/OT outcome. Relative to the 1st quartile, the odds ratio in the 4th quartile was 2.9 (p = 0.004), the 3rd quartile 1.8 (p = 0.094), and the 2nd quartile 3.1 (p<0.001). CONCLUSION:To our knowledge, this is the first Malagasy study describing the relationship between socioeconomic status on emergency care outcomes. We found a stronger effect on health in this setting than in high-income countries, highlighting an important healthcare disparity. By using standardized classification systems we hope this study will serve as a model to facilitate future comparative efforts.

Project description:Introduction:Hospital utilization varies across socioeconomic and demographic strata in Canada, a country with a universal health care system. Rates of adverse birth outcomes are known to differ among women of high and low socioeconomic status (SES), but less is known of the excess hospital burden related to SES over the course of childbirth across Canadian provinces. Objective:To examine length of stay and risk of hospitalization surrounding delivery, relative to women's socio-demographic characteristics. Methods:A population-based record linkage between the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) years 2005-2011 and the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) allowed the tracking of hospital utilization for linked survey respondents between 2005 and 2011. Hourly length of stay for delivery, risk of readmission, and risk of admission prior to delivery was modeled by socio-demographic factors, controlling for other clinical and individual-level characteristics. Results:There were 21,914 complete delivery records from 15,458 female CCHS respondents who agreed to link and share their information. Average length of stay (for both vaginal and Caesarian deliveries) dropped over the study period from 67.86 hours in 2005 to 59.37 hours in 2011. In multivariate analyses, women with the lowest income had on average, two-hour longer stays for vaginal delivery as compared to high-income women (IRR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00-1.08) and higher risk of admission prior to delivery (OR 1.43, CI 1.13-1.81). Low-income women, Aboriginal women and women living in rural areas were also at elevated risk for longer hospital stays and for hospital admission prior to delivery. There was no consistent socioeconomic patterning of hospital burden for Caesarian deliveries. Conclusion:The length of hospital stays for childbirth has declined in Canada. Length of stay remains modestly longer, and risk of hospitalization in the perinatal period higher, for low income women, Aboriginal women and rural women. The absence of egregious income-related differences in hospital burden related to childbirth is reassuring for the equity goals of the Canadian health care system. The persistence of marginally longer, and in turn, costlier visits for low-income and Aboriginal women before and during delivery is, however, suggestive that resources targeted to the prenatal period might be highly cost-effective if they achieve population-wide reductions in length of stay and hospitalization in the perinatal period.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among female adolescents. A greater risk is seen among adolescent mothers who become pregnant outside marriage and consider suicide as the solution to unresolved problems. We aimed to investigate the factors associated with suicidal behavior among adolescent pregnant mothers in Kenya. METHODS:A total of 27 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 8 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted in a rural setting (Makueni County) in Kenya. The study participants consisted of formal health care workers and informal health care providers (traditional birth attendants and community health workers), adolescent and adult pregnant and post-natal (up to six weeks post-delivery) women including first-time adolescent mothers, and caregivers (husbands and/or mothers-in-law of pregnant women) and local key opinion leaders. The qualitative data was analyzed using Qualitative Solution for Research (QSR) NVivo version 10. RESULTS:Five themes associated with suicidal behavior risk among adolescent mothers emerged from this study. These included: (i) poverty, (ii) intimate partner violence (IPV), (iii) family rejection, (iv) social isolation and stigma from the community, and (v) chronic physical illnesses. Low economic status was associated with hopelessness and suicidal ideation. IPV was related to drug abuse (especially alcohol) by the male partner, predisposing the adolescent mothers to suicidal ideation. Rejection by parents and isolation by peers at school; and diagnosis of a chronic illness such as HIV/AIDS were other contributing factors to suicidal behavior in adolescent mothers. CONCLUSION:Improved social relations, economic and health circumstances of adolescent mothers can lead to reduction of suicidal behaviour. Therefore, concerted efforts by stakeholders including family members, community leaders, health care workers and policy makers should explore ways of addressing IPV, economic empowerment and access to youth friendly health care centers for chronic physical illnesses. Prevention strategies should include monitoring for suicidal behavior risks during pregnancy in both community and health care settings. Additionally, utilizing lay workers in conducting dialogue discussions and early screening could address some of the risk factors and reduce pregnancy- related suicide mortality in LMICs.

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Suboptimal iron deficiency screening in pregnancy and the impact of socioeconomic status in a high-resource setting.

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