Iron deficiency anaemia and its associated risk factors among lactating mothers in Ghana

Mensah K, Abbam G, Gadzeto FF, Marfo L, Daud S, Kuntah S, Bani SB, Dzamesi HK, Apodola FA, Badu A, Chukwurah FE

Pdf Page Numbers :- 315-322

Kofi Mensah^1,2*, Gabriel Abbam1, Felix Fiagbe Gadzeto³, Lawrence Marfo⁴, Samira Daud¹, Seth Kuntah⁵, Simon Bannison Bani³, Hayford Kwadzo Dzamesi⁶, Francis Atoroba Apodola⁴, Augustine Badu⁷ and Felix Ejike Chukwurah²

¹Department of Haematology, School of Allied Health Sciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

²Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Health Science and Technology, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria

³Department of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

⁴Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Yamfo, Ghana

⁵Department of Family Medicine, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Tamale, Ghana

⁶Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

⁷Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Health and Allied Health Sciences, Koforidua Technical University, Ghana

*Corresponding author: Kofi Mensah; Department of Haematology, School of Allied Health Sciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana. Email: kmensah@uds.edu.gh

Received 22 June 2024; Revised 10 September 2024; Accepted 17 September 2024; Published 24 September 2024

Citation: Mensah K, Abbam G, Gadzeto FF, Marfo L, Daud S, Kuntah S, Bani SB, Dzamesi HK, Apodola FA, Badu A, Chukwurah FE. Iron deficiency anaemia and its associated risk factors among lactating mothers in Ghana. J Med Sci Res. 2024; 12(4):315-322. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17727/JMSR.2024/12-59

Copyright: © 2024 Mensah K et al. Published by KIMS Foundation and Research Center. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

PDF

Abstract

Background: Anaemia is one of the most common conditions affecting human physiology. Iron deficiency, with or without anaemia, reduces the working capacity of individuals and the entire population. The aim of the study was to establish the prevalence of anaemia; iron deficiency anaemia using serum ferritin levels and factors associated with iron deficiency anaemia among lactating mothers in the district.

Materials & methods: This study was conducted at St. Elizabeth Hospital, Hwidiem in the Ahafo Region of Ghana. Full blood count analysis, serum ferritin, malaria and other measurements such as Body Mass Index (BMI) and diet assessment were done for all the participants. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on risk factors and demographic characteristics. p>0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The overall prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia among lactating mothers was 26%. The bivariate analysis showed 13 (50%) positive malaria participants (p = 0.011), 5 (63%) who experience loss of appetite most times (p = 0.003), 17(50%) participants who had no access to regular meal (p = 0.001), four or less antenatal visit (p = 0.004), once a week intake of meat and sea foods (p = 0.001), cereal and legumes intake 2-4 a day (p = 0.044) were associated with iron deficiency anaemia.

Conclusion: IDA prevalence of 26% during lactation may be due to infant iron demands in breast milk. Measures must therefore be put in place for a thorough examination of anaemia in this population which should include the assessment of iron biomarkers and not just haemoglobin levels.

Keywords: lactating mothers; iron deficiency; anaemia