Iron deficiency anaemia in pregnant and lactating mothers in rural Ethiopia

Objective: To determine iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) status in pregnant an d lactating mothers from various staple diet areas in Ethiopia, Designs: Cross-sectional study was employed in randomly selected sites whic h were stratified with reference to the amount of their dietary iron consum ption and prevalence of parasitic diseases between 1990 and 1994, Settings: Thirteen sites representing six main staple diet areas. Subjects: One thousand four hundred and forty nine pregnant and lactating m others aged 15 - 49 years. Main outcome measures: The overall status of IDA determined by haemoglobin level was 18.4% with higher rates in maize, milk and sorghum staple areas. Although the mean values for Hgb, Hct and serum iron were above the cut-off point for anaemia, most of the staple areas appeared to have had mild to m oderate type of IDA, Results: The proportion of women with IDA was higher in the illiterates, ag e group of 20 to 29 years, multiparity and in areas where the prevalence of intestinal parasites was high and dietary iron intake was low. When the ir on content of the staple diet consumed was considered against the prevalenc e of anaemia by haemoglobin level, low iron intake areas (milk and maize st aple areas) were seen to be affected significantly (p<0.05) by anaemia than the high iron intake groups. Conclusion: Mild to moderate degree of IDA exists in milk and maize depende nt staple diet, therefore, iron supplementation targeted to the pregnant an d lactating mothers is recommended.