Higher Rate of Iron Deficiency in Obese Pregnant Sudanese Women

Abstract

Aim: To assess the association between obesity and iron deficiency (ID).

Material and methods: Pregnant women were recruited from Saad Abualila Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan, during January-April 2015. Medical history (age, parity, gestational age) was gathered using questionnaire. Weight and height were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Women were sub-grouped based on BMI into underweight (< 18.5 kg/m^2), normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m^2), overweight (25-29.9 kg/m^2) and obese (≥ 30 kg/m^2). Serum ferritin and red blood indices were measured in all studied women.

Results: Two (0.5%), 126 (29.8%), 224 (53.0%) and 71 (16.8%) out of the 423 women were underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese, respectively. Anemia (Hb <11 g/dl), ID (ferritin <15µg/l) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) were prevalent in 57.7%, 21.3% and 12.1%, respectively. Compared with the women with normal BMI, significantly fewer obese women were anemic [25 (35.2%) vs. 108 (85.7%), P < 0.001] and significantly higher number of obese women [25 (35.2) vs. 22 (17.5, P = 0.015] had iron deficiency. Linear regression analysis demonstrated a significant negative association between serum ferritin and BMI (- 0.010 µg/, P= 0.006).

Conclusion: It is evident from the current findings that prevalence of anaemia and ID showed different trends about BMI of pregnant women.

Keywords: Body mass index; Sudan; iron deficiency; obesity; pregnancy.