Maternal Anemia in Benin: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Association with Low Birth Weight

Florence Bodeau-Livinec Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Mère et Enfant face aux Infections Tropicales, Paris, France; Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France; Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana; Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculte des Sciences de la Sante, Cotonou, Benin

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Valerie Briand Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Mère et Enfant face aux Infections Tropicales, Paris, France; Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France; Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana; Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculte des Sciences de la Sante, Cotonou, Benin

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Jacques Berger Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Mère et Enfant face aux Infections Tropicales, Paris, France; Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France; Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana; Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculte des Sciences de la Sante, Cotonou, Benin

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Xu Xiong Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Mère et Enfant face aux Infections Tropicales, Paris, France; Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France; Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana; Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculte des Sciences de la Sante, Cotonou, Benin

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Achille Massougbodji Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Mère et Enfant face aux Infections Tropicales, Paris, France; Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France; Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana; Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculte des Sciences de la Sante, Cotonou, Benin

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Karen P. Day Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Mère et Enfant face aux Infections Tropicales, Paris, France; Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France; Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana; Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculte des Sciences de la Sante, Cotonou, Benin

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Michel Cot Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Mère et Enfant face aux Infections Tropicales, Paris, France; Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France; Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana; Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculte des Sciences de la Sante, Cotonou, Benin

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0599
Volume/Issue:
Volume 85: Issue 3
Page(s):
414–420
Restricted access
Get Permissions

We studied the prevalence of anemia during pregnancy and its relationship with low birth weight (LBW; birth weight < 2,500 g) in Benin. We analyzed 1,508 observations from a randomized controlled trial conducted from 2005 to 2008 showing equivalence on the risk of LBW between two drugs for Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria during pregnancy (IPTp). Despite IPTp, helminth prophylaxis, and iron and folic acid supplementations, the proportions of women with severe anemia (hemoglobin [Hb] concentration < 80 g/L) and anemia (Hb < 110 g/L) were high throughout pregnancy: 3.9% and 64.7% during the second and 3.7% and 64.1% during the third trimester, but 2.5% and 39.6% at the onset of labor, respectively. Compared with women without anemia (Hb ≥ 110 g/L) during the third trimester, women with severe anemia (Hb < 80 g/L) were at higher risk of LBW after adjustment for potential confounding factors (prevalence ratio [PR] = 2.8; 95% confidence interval [1.4–5.6]).

Author Notes

*Address correspondence to Florence Bodeau-Livinec, Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, 341 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010. E-mail: bodeaf01@nyumc.org

Financial support: The trial was funded by the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement. Florence Bodeau-Livinec was funded by the New York University School of Medicine and supported in part through a grant (R21-HD060524) from the National Institutes of Health.

Authors' addresses: Florence Bodeau-Livinec and Karen P Day, Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, E-mails: bodeaf01@nyumc.org and karen.day@nyumc.org. Valerie Briand and Michel Cot, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Mère et Enfant face aux Infections Tropicales, Paris, France; Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France, E-mails: valerie.briand@gmail.com and michel.cot@ird.fr. Jacques Berger, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France, E-mail: jacques.berger@ird.fr. Xu Xiong, Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, E-mail: xxiong@tulane.edu. Achille Massougbodji, Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculte des Sciences de la Sante, Universite d'Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin, E-mail: massougbodjiachille@yahoo.fr.

Copyright:
©The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2011
Received:
21 Oct 2010
|
Accepted:
11 Jun 2011
|
Published Online:
01 Sep 2011
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
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