Association Between Seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, Malaria and Food Diversity with Anaemic Status Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics at Edo State University Teaching Hospital Auchi, Edo North, Nigeria

Background: Malaria, HIV, and HBV when coexisted with nutritional deficiencies contribute to the burden of public health issues among pregnancy women in sub-Sahara Africa particularly Nigeria. These diseases are contributory factors to significant fetal loss, anemia and early neonatal death in children born to mothers with these co-infections.

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the association of HIV, HBV, malaria feeding habits as it affects the anaemic status of pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Edo State University Teaching Hospital Auchi, Edo State.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among 400 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at tertiary health care in Edo North using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Blood samples were analyzed for HIV, HBV and Malaria using standard diagnostic techniques. Haemoglobin concentration was measured to determine anaemia (Hb <11g/dl). Food diversity was assessed using a structured food frequency questionnaire. Two-tail student’s t−test was used for comparison of two means, X² (chi−squared test) for group comparisons to determine the significance of observed differences or association where applicable.

Results: Result shows that 3 (0.8%) of the respondents were HBsAg positive and 5 (1.4%) were diagnosed HIV positive. The respondents’ iron supplementation adherence, dietary diversity, HIV status, HBV status and prevalence of malaria did not significantly influence the prevalence of anemia in pregnancy. The prevalence of malaria was 20 (5.2%) among the respondents.

Conclusion: Anaemia in pregnancy is multifactorial, with infectious diseases and poor dietary diversity playing significant roles. In view of the public health importance of these infections, integrated antenatal interventions targeting infections and nutrition are essential. There was a high prevalence of malaria with low prevalence of HBV and HIV among the studied population.

Keywords: Seroprevalence, HIV, HBV, Malaria, Food Diversity, Anaemia, Pregnant Women, Auchi.