ASSOCIATION OF ANAEMIA AND OTHER SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND HAEMATOLOGICAL FACTORS WITH ANTENATAL DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN KHARIAN, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Background and Objective: Anaemia and antenatal mood disorders are both highly prevalent among pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries, but whether they are related is uncertain. This study determined the prevalence of antenatal depression and anxiety and examined their association with anaemia and other sociodemographic and haematological factors..

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 397 pregnant women attending primary, secondary, and tertiary care facilities in Kharian, Punjab, Pakistan. Depression and anxiety were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; subscale score ≥11 = case). A complete blood count was performed and anaemia was defined as haemoglobin <11 g/dL. Associations were tested with the chi-square test and independent-samples t-test in SPSS, with p<0.05 considered significant.

Results: Anaemia was present in 51.1% of women (mean haemoglobin 10.92 ± 1.28 g/dL). Antenatal depression occurred in 20.4% and anxiety in 22.7%. Anaemia was significantly associated with antenatal depression (anaemic 24.6% vs non-anaemic 16.0%; χ² = 4.57, p = 0.033) but not with anxiety (21.7% vs 23.7%; p = 0.628). Mean haemoglobin was lower in depressed women (10.80 vs 10.96 g/dL) though not significantly. None of the sociodemographic variables (age, education, residence, parity, gravidity, trimester, body-mass index) or other haematological indices was significantly associated with either outcome.

Conclusion: Anaemia affected half of the pregnant women studied and was significantly associated with antenatal depression, though not anxiety. Routine screening and treatment of anaemia in pregnancy may carry mental-health benefits in addition to its established physical benefits.