Frequency of Thalassemia Minor and Iron Deficiency Anemia in Pregnant Women Presenting with Anemia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v3i4.1165Keywords:
Pregnancy, Anemia, AnemiaIron Deficiency, Thalassemia Minor, Hemoglobin ElectrophoresisAbstract
Background: Anemia in pregnancy is a significant public health concern, affecting maternal and fetal health outcomes. Among its causes, iron deficiency anemia and thalassemia minor are critical conditions requiring early diagnosis and management. Identifying the prevalence and associated factors of these anemia types is essential for improving antenatal care and preventing complications. Objective: To determine the prevalence of thalassemia minor and iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women with anemia. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Duration and Place of Study: This study was conducted from September 2024 to December 2024 in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals, Swat. Methodology: A total of 130 pregnant women aged 18–40 years with a confirmed singleton pregnancy beyond 12 weeks of gestation and diagnosed with anemia were enrolled using a non-probability consecutive sampling method. Patients with hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, autoimmune diseases, or hematological disorders other than anemia were excluded. Demographic and clinical data, including hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, serum ferritin, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), were recorded. Results: The mean age of participants was 30.21 ± 3.25 years, with a gestational age of 17.15 ± 3.07 weeks. The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia was 27.7%, while 6.2% of participants were diagnosed with thalassemia minor. Conclusion: Thalassemia minor and iron deficiency anemia are prevalent among anemic pregnant women, with distinct demographic and clinical associations.
Downloads
References
Benson, C. S., Shah, A., Frise, M. C., & Frise, C. J. (2020). Iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy: A contemporary review. Obstetric Medicine, 14(2), 67-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1753495x20932426
Kaushal, S., Priya, T., Thakur, S., Marwaha, P., & Kaur, H. (2022). The etiology of anemia among pregnant women in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh in North India: A cross-sectional study. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.21444
Kharate, M. A., & Choudhari, S. G. (2024). Effects of maternal anemia affecting fetal outcomes: A narrative review. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.64800
Raut, A. K., & Hiwale, K. M. (2022). Iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.28918
Kumar, S. B., Arnipalli, S. R., Mehta, P., Carrau, S., & Ziouzenkova, O. (2022). Iron deficiency anemia: Efficacy and limitations of nutritional and comprehensive mitigation strategies. Nutrients, 14(14), 2976. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14142976
Kumar, A., Sharma, E., Marley, A., Samaan, M. A., & Brookes, M. J. (2022). Iron deficiency anaemia: Pathophysiology, assessment, practical management. BMJ Open Gastroenterology, 9(1), e000759. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgast-2021-000759
Cohen, C. T., & Powers, J. M. (2024). Nutritional strategies for managing iron deficiency in adolescents: Approaches to a challenging but common problem. Advances in Nutrition, 15(5), 100215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100215
Ruangvutilert, P., Phatihattakorn, C., Yaiyiam, C., & Panchalee, T. (2022). Pregnancy outcomes among women affected with thalassemia traits. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 307(2), 431-438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-022-06519-y
Ali, S., Mumtaz, S., Shakir, H. A., Khan, M., Tahir, H. M., Mumtaz, S., Mughal, T. A., Hassan, A., Kazmi, S. A., Sadia, Irfan, M., & Khan, M. A. (2021). Current status of beta‐thalassemia and its treatment strategies. Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.1002/mgg3.1788
Falcone, V., Heinzl, F., Itariu, B. K., Reischer, T., Springer, S., Muin, D. A., Pateisky, P., Foessleitner, P., Ott, J., Farr, A., & Rosta, K. (2022). Gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnant women with beta-thalassemia minor: A matched case-control study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(7), 2050. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11072050
Mensah, C., & Sheth, S. (2021). Optimal strategies for carrier screening and prenatal diagnosis of α- and β-thalassemia. Hematology, 2021(1), 607-613. https://doi.org/10.1182/hematology.2021000296
Farmakis, D., Porter, J., Taher, A., Domenica Cappellini, M., Angastiniotis, M., & Eleftheriou, A. (2022). 2021 thalassaemia international Federation guidelines for the management of transfusion-dependent thalassemia. HemaSphere, 6(8), e732. https://doi.org/10.1097/hs9.0000000000000732
Susanti, A. I., Sahiratmadja, E., Winarno, G., Sugianli, A. K., Susanto, H., & Panigoro, R. (2017). Low hemoglobin among pregnant women in midwives practice of primary health care, Jatinangor, Indonesia: Iron deficiency anemia or β-thalassemia trait? Anemia, 2017, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/6935648
Chohan, S. A., Iltaf, S., Aslam, S., & Mahmood, N. (2024). Frequency of Beta Thalassemia Trait Among Anemic Pregnant Women Presenting to Tertiary Care Hospital. Journal of The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Pakistan, 14(2), 84-86. https://jsogp.net/index.php/jsogp/article/view/774
Mustafa, A., Zulfiqar, M., Ali, B. A., & Naseem, L. (2018). Frequency of S-thalassemia trait among pregnant women presenting at Pakistan Institute of medical sciences. National Journal of Health Sciences, 3(4), 118-121. https://doi.org/10.21089/njhs.34.0118
Qadir, M., & Amir, S. (2017). Frequency of beta Thalassemia trait in pregnant anemic patients attending Khyber teaching hospital, Peshawar-Pakistan. Khyber Medical University Journal, 9(4), 185-187. https://www.kmuj.kmu.edu.pk/article/view/17371
Khan, H., Shah, F., & Khan, K. (1970). Frequency of beta-thallassemia trait among pregnant women in their last trimester with hypochromic microcytic anemia. Pakistan Journal of Public Health, 7(2), 79-81. https://doi.org/10.32413/pjph.v7i2.37
Iqbal, K. I. R. A. N., Iqbal, I. R. E. M., & Shami, N. A. B. E. E. L. A. (2018). Frequency of Betathalassemia Trait in Pregnant Females. PAKISTAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL & HEALTH SCIENCES, 12(3), 1200-2. https://pjmhsonline.com/2018/july_sep/pdf/1200.pdf
Wang, M., Zhang, X., Zhao, Y., Zhang, Y., Lin, Y., Xiao, M., & Li, L. (2023). Corrigendum: Prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia in pregnant women with various thalassemia genotypes: thoughts on iron supplementation in pregnant women with thalassemia genes. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1254578
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Indus Journal of Bioscience Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
