Anemia gestacional del tercer trimestre: frecuencia y gravedad según la edad materna

Background: Anemia is very frequent condition in pregnant women and it has repercussions for both mother and child. Objective: Determine the frequency and severity of third trimester gestational anemia (hemoglobinemia < 11 g/dL) according to maternal age, in women whose child was born at the Hospital Vicente Corral, between September 2016 and February 2017. Material and methods: Transversal study. Sample: 428 pregnant women. Inclusion criteria: pregnancy of ≥ 27 weeks, hemoglobin report and live neonate. Exclusion criteria: twin newborns, neonate with major congenital malformations, mother with chronic diseases. Statistical analysis: in the quantitative variables, median, minimum and maximum values were calculated; in qualitative variables, absolute and relative frequencies were obtained; to demonstrate association Chi square was used and for statistical significance p-valor < 0.05. Results: Median for maternal age: 23 years 4 months. Hemoglobin: in anemic women 9.9 g/dl, in non-anemic 12.2 g/dl (p = 0.000). Anemia frequency: overall 31.8%, in <20 years 41.5%, in women 20-34 years 26.5% and in >35 years 35.6%. Severity of anemia: mild 18.7%, moderate 12.6, severe 0.5%. Maternal age influenced the frequency of anemia (Pearson’s Chi square = 8.911, p-value = 0.012), but not in its severity (Pearson’s Chi square = 1.078, p-value =0.898). Microcytosis frequency was 36.9% in anemic women. The mean corpuscular volume was associated with the severity of the anemia (p-value = 0.019). Conclusions: The frequency of anemia in the third trimester of pregnancy was high, the mild anemia was predominant. It mainly affected women < 20 and > 35 years old.