Plasma Iron Indices in Pregnant Women Referred to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) is common obstetric problem and nutritional disorder in developing countries. However, there is paucity of studies that evaluated the iron indices of pregnant women to augment diagnosis of IDA and associated disorders.

This cross-sectional study evaluated the serum iron, ferritin, transferrin, total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and Unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) of pregnant women attending University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria.

Blood samples was collected from 58 non-pregnant women, 22 pregnant women at first trimester, 52 in 2nd and 44 in 3rd trimester. The serum ferritin concentration of these samples was measured by Chemiluminescence Assay (CLIA) while the serum transferrin, total iron binding capacity and iron concentrations were measured by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). IDA was defined as serum ferritin levels <15μg/L

The overall prevalence of IDA in pregnant women was 33.1%. However, the prevalence of IDA was 29.3%, 22.7%, 34.6% and 36.4% among non-pregnant women, women at 1st trimester, 2nd and 3rd trimester, respectively. The mean+SD Iron levels was significantly higher among pregnant women than the non-pregnant women (p=0.004). There was no significant difference in the mean+SD serum ferritin, transferrin, TIBC concentration between pregnant and non-pregnant women (p˃0.05). However, the mean+SD serum iron, ferritin and UIBC significantly differ from across gestation age of pregnant women (p˂0.05).

This study revealed a high level of IDA during pregnancy and this increases with the trimester of pregnant women. Healthcare interventional measures that could address this nutritional and metabolic disorder are recommended.