RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Association between type of contraceptive use and haemoglobin status among women of reproductive age in 24 sub-Saharan Africa countries
JF BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health
JO BMJ Sex Reprod Health
FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group
SP 54
OP 60
DO 10.1136/bmjsrh-2018-200178
VO 45
IS 1
A1 Samson Gebremedhin
A1 Anteneh Asefa
YR 2019
UL http://jfprhc.bmj.com/content/45/1/54.abstract
AB Background Little is known whether contraceptive methods differentially modify women’s risk of anaemia or not. We compared the haemoglobin status of women currently using different fertility regulation methods in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where anaemia is a major concern.Methods We conducted the study based on the secondary data of 24 nationally representative demographic and health surveys carried out recently in SSA. The data of 105 532 women were included in the analysis. In the original surveys, respondents were selected using multistage sampling techniques and haemoglobin was determined using the HemoCue analyser. The association between method of contraception and anaemia status was determined via a mixed-effects logistic regression model adjusted for potential confounders. The outputs are presented using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI.Results The mean (±SD deviation) haemoglobin was 12.3 (±1.7) g/dl and 36.7% of the women had anaemia. Current use of modern contraceptives, as compared with non-use, was associated with a 25% reduction (AOR=0.75 (95% CI: 0.73 to 0.78)) in the odds of anaemia. Comparison among individual modern methods showed, as compared with current barrier methods users, use of injectables (AOR=0.62 (95% CI: 0.57 to 0.67)), oral contraceptive pills (OCP) (AOR=0.62 (95% CI: 0.57 to 0.66)) and implants (AOR=0.63 (95% CI: 0.58 to 0.70)) were significantly associated with reduced odds of anaemia. With reference to women with less than 12 months of use, the odds were significantly reduced by about a quarter among women with more than 12 months of OCP or injectables use.Conclusion The use of hormonal contraceptives is associated with lower odds of anaemia.