Abstract
Background 10-20% of pregnancies end due to spontaneous abortions. In recent years, nondocumentary evidence has been indicative of an increase in the prevalence of nonspontaneous abortions in Iran, especially in the Kurdish regions. The aim of this study is to assess the lifetime prevalence of spontaneous abortions and factors affecting spontaneous abortion in women 35-65 years old. Method Data from the recruitment phase of Ravansar Non-Communicable Disease (RaNCD) cohort study was used. All of the 4831 married women 35-65 years old and with history of pregnancy were included in this study. In order to determine the abortion ratio, the number of abortions was divided by the number of live births, and multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to determine associated factors affecting abortion. Results About 25.7% of women had a history of spontaneous abortion. The abortion ratio in women was 0.10. The abortion ratio in women with secondary education, first pregnancy and marriage age at ≥26, socioeconomic condition, and hyperthyroid and diabetes was high while the abortion ratio of women with high physical activity and BMI < 18.9 or residents of rural area was low. After assessing the effective variables, it was found that women with high blood pressure have 63% less odds for nonspontaneous abortion, which is statistically significant (p value < 0.05). Conclusion Considering the effect of factors such as level of education, older age at the first marriage, and age at the first pregnancy on increased chance of spontaneous abortion, measures should be taken to take more care for these people.
Highlights
Spontaneous abortion is one of the most common complications of pregnancy [1]
The findings of this study suggested that age at the first marriage and age at the first pregnancy are important risk factors in spontaneous abortion
In the Ravansar Non-Communicable Disease (RaNCD) cohort study, the investigator in line with the protocol of the Prospective Epidemiological Research Studies in Iran (PERSIAN) cohort used a local and female interviewer for women, in order to get the correct answers to the questions. Such interviewer reassured the participants regarding the confidentiality of provided answers. For countries such as Iran in which the psychosocial complication of abortion might be prominent, it is of great importance to know its risk factors within a population-based study
Summary
Spontaneous abortion is one of the most common complications of pregnancy [1]. Studies indicate that the incidence of spontaneous abortion is between 10 and 20% [3,4,5]. It should be noted that most of the spontaneous abortions occur in the early weeks of pregnancy, and it can be confused with menstrual bleeding [1, 6, 7]. It is very difficult to determine the rate of spontaneous and unwanted abortions because in countries where legal abortion is prohibited, there is a possibility of false report. The study of spontaneous abortion in low- and middle-income countries is very challenging because most abortions have not been reported to and recorded in their official health system [8]
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