Abstract

BackgroundIntestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are public health problems widely distributed in the world and cause significant morbidity and mortality; many of which occur among women of reproductive age. IPIs caused by helminthes and protozoan parasites are common among pregnant women. Data on the national pooled prevalence of intestinal parasites and associated factors during pregnancy is not documented well in Ethiopia. This review aims at summarizing evidences on the burden of IPIs and associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia.MethodsPublished and unpublished studies were thoroughly searched at MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Cochrane library and Science Direct. In addition, repositories of Addis Ababa, Gondar and Jimma Universities were searched. Eligible studies were selected following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guideline. The pooled prevalence of intestinal parasites and summary odds ratios (ORs) were determined with 95 % confidence intervals (CI). Sub-groups analyses were done based on study region, types of parasites, methods of stool examination and study setting. The statistical analyses were performed using STATA version 14.0 software.ResultsAmong 168 retrieved studies, 31 studies with a total population of 12,118 pregnant women were included. The estimated pooled prevalence of IPIs among pregnant women in Ethiopia was 27.32 % (95 % CI: 20.61, 33.87 %). In the subgroup analysis, Oromia and Amhara regions had the highest prevalence with a 29.78 % (95 % CI: 15.97, 43.60) and 29.63 % (95 % CI: 15.37, 43.89); respectively. In addition, studies conducted in the community showed higher prevalence than institution based studies (49.93 % Vs 24.84 %; respectively). The most prevalent type of intestinal parasite identified were Hookworm followed by Ascaris lumbricoides with a pooled prevalence of 11.2 and 10.34 %, respectively. In our analysis; residence, being bare footed, lack of hand washing habit and eating uncooked/raw vegetables were significantly associated with IPIs among pregnant women in Ethiopia.ConclusionsPrevalence of IPIs during pregnancy is relatively high in Ethiopia. Poor hygienic practices were identified as risk factors. Based on our finding, targeted preventive measures shall be considered so as to prevent morbidity and mortality due to IPIs.

Highlights

  • Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are public health problems widely distributed in the world and cause significant morbidity and mortality; many of which occur among women of reproductive age

  • Prevalence of IPIs during pregnancy is relatively high in Ethiopia

  • Factors associated with intestinal parasitic infection among pregnant women in Ethiopia Our analysis identified that residence area, being bare footed, hand washing habit and eating uncooked/raw vegetables have significant association with the occurrence of IPIs among pregnant women

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Summary

Introduction

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are public health problems widely distributed in the world and cause significant morbidity and mortality; many of which occur among women of reproductive age. IPIs caused by helminthes and protozoan parasites are common among pregnant women. This review aims at summarizing evidences on the burden of IPIs and associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia. IPIs are public health problems widely distributed throughout the world causing significant morbidity, many of which occur among women of reproductive age. IPIs caused by helminths and protozoan parasites are common among pregnant women and experience more severe infections [2]. IPIs are common during pregnancy that aggravates the effect leading to “a double burden to carry” and causes serious problems to the mother as well as to the embryo/fetus [1, 9]. IPIs might cause anemia; induce deficiencies of iron, total energy, protein, folate and zinc all of which results in low pregnancy weight gain and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), greater risks of infection, low birth weight (LBW) and higher perinatal mortality rates [1, 10,11,12,13]

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