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Zinc deficiency among pregnant women around Lake Awasa, Hawassa City, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2022

Gezahegn Alemu
Affiliation:
School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
Tona Zema Diddana*
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
Tafese Bosha
Affiliation:
School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
Tagel Alemu
Affiliation:
School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
Fikadu Reta Alemayehu
Affiliation:
School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
Hailu Hailemariam
Affiliation:
School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
Alemneh Kabeta Daba
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
Mahilet Getachew
Affiliation:
School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
*
*Corresponding author: Tona Zema Diddana, email tona@hu.edu.et

Abstract

Zinc deficiency (ZD) during pregnancy has far-reaching consequences on the mother, fetus and subsequent child survival. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of ZD among pregnant women around Lake Awasa, Hawassa City, Ethiopia. To this end, a facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 333 randomly sampled pregnant women from 08 April to 08 May 2021. The socio-economic, dietary intake, water, sanitation and hygiene, obstetric, and maternal health data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Moreover, on-spot blood and stool samples were taken. Descriptive statistics and binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis were conducted. The prevalence of ZD was 58⋅6 % (95 % CI 53⋅31, 63⋅89). The poorest (AOR = 3⋅28; 95 % CI 1⋅26, 8⋅50) and poor (AOR = 2⋅93; 95 % CI 1⋅14, 7⋅54) wealth quintiles, four of more family size (AOR = 1⋅84, 95 % CI 1⋅10, 3⋅35), poor dietary diversity (AOR = 4⋅11; 95 % CI 2⋅11, 7⋅62), not eating snacks (AOR = 3⋅40; 95 % CI 1⋅42, 8⋅15), not consuming fish (AOR = 3⋅53; 95 % CI 1⋅65, 7⋅56) and chicken (AOR = 2⋅53; 95 % CI 1⋅31, 4⋅88) at least once a month, and intestinal parasitic infection (AOR = 2⋅78; 95 % CI 1⋅52, 5⋅08) predicted zinc deficiency. In conclusion, ZD is a public health problem among pregnant women around Lake Awasa. The present study demonstrated that poor socio-economic status, large family size, poor nutritional practices and intestinal parasitic infection determine the zinc status in the present study area. The findings suggest the need for further analysis to deepen the understanding about ZD and consideration of livelihood in interventions to prevent and control ZD among pregnant women in Hawassa City, Ethiopia.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society
Figure 0

Table 1. Socio-demographics of the study participating pregnant women around Lake Awasa, Hawassa City, Sidama Region, Ethiopia, 08 April–08 May 2021 (n 333)

Figure 1

Table 2. WASH practices among pregnant women around Lake Awasa, Hawassa City, Sidama Region, Ethiopia, 08 April–08 May 2021 (n 333)

Figure 2

Table 3. Obstetrics of the study participating pregnant women around Lake Awasa, Hawassa City, Sidama Region, Ethiopia, 08 April–08 May 2021 (n 333)

Figure 3

Fig. 1. Food groups consumed in the last 24 h by the study participating pregnant women around Lake Awasa, Sidama Region, Ethiopia (08 April–08 May 2021) (n 333).

Figure 4

Table 4. Dietary intake of study participating pregnant women around Lake Awasa, Hawassa City, Sidama Region, Ethiopia, 08 April–08 May 2021 (n 333)

Figure 5

Table 5. Infections in pregnant women around Lake Awasa, Hawassa City, Sidama, Ethiopia, 08 April–08 May 2021 (n 333)

Figure 6

Table 6. Factors associated with zinc deficiency among study participating pregnant women around Lake Awasa, Hawassa City, Sidama Region, Ethiopia, 08 April–08 May 2021 (n 333)