Prevalence and Determinants of Anemia among Reproductive-Age Women Who Delivered by Cesarean Section in Uganda: Evidence from the 2022 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey

Abstract

Anemia among women with previous C-section delivery significantly impacts on their health outcomes, particularly in countries like Uganda, where maternal healthcare disparities and food insecurity persist. This study examined the prevalence and determinants of this public health burden among C-section women age 15-49 years in Uganda, focusing on socio-demographic, obstetric, maternal, nutritional and preventive factors. While employing the modified Poisson regression model, the study utilized a cross-sectional secondary data of 1,066 women who had C-Section from the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) 2022 to examine the determinants of anemia among these women. The findings were reported as adjusted Risk Ratios (aRR) with the 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). The results show that about one in ten women who had a C-section were affected by anemia. The multivariable modified Poisson regression identified significant associations between anemia and place of residence, household size, deworming treatment, and birth interval. Specifically, C-section women living in rural residents (aRR 0.957; 95% CI: 0.917 – 0.999), those in households with less than five people (aRR 0.961; 95% CI: 0.924 – 1), and women who did not deworm (aRR 0.947; 95% CI: 0.908 – 0.986) had lower risk while those with birth intervals of less than two years (aRR 1.040; 95% CI: 1.003 – 1.078) had a higher risk of being anaemia. These findings indicated relatively high anemia among C-section women, underscoring the need for implementation of programs such as nutritional counseling, routine anemia screening, consistent supply of iron supplements to help replenish lost nutrients thus enhancing better health outcomes. Family planning initiatives may also help educate women on the value of adequate child spacing. The paradoxical finding that not taking deworming treatment lowers the risk of anemia, underscores the need for further research to explore this relationship.