Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9600
ISSN: 2155-9600
Abdur Rahman1, Haila Al-Rashidi2 and Saeed Akhtar2
1Kuwait University, Kuwait 2Ministry of Health, Kuwait
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Nutr Food Sci
The objective of this study was to investigate differences in maternal and infant related birth variables among various nationalities residing in Kuwait and to evaluate major predictors of pregnancy outcome. In a cross-sectional study, pregnant women admitted for deliveries between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm over a three-month period were recruited from Al-Sabah Maternity Hospital, Kuwait. Data were collected from 369 mother-infant dyads on mother height (MH), mother hemoglobin (mHb), child hemoglobin (cHb), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), gestational age (GA), placental weight (PW), birth weight (BW), crown-heal length (CHL) and head circumference (HC). PW/BW ratio was analyzed. Study sample comprised of 21.7% Kuwaitis, 22% Egyptians, 12.2% Indians, 11.4% Syrians, 7.6% Lebanese and 25.1% others. Significant differences (p<0.05) among various nationalities were observed on mHb, HC, CHL, PW and MH. Kuwaiti and Indian women had lower PW and their babies had lower HC and CHL. Prevalence of anemia (Hb<11.0 g/dL) ranged from 7.1% (Lebanese) to 30.0% (Kuwaiti) with the overall prevalence of 19.5%. Prevalence of low birth weight in this sample was 3.5%. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed PW as a significant predictor of BW (p<0.01), CHL (p<0.001) and HC (p=0.004) and PW/BW ratio was significantly associated with MH (p=0.034). In conclusion, significant differences among different nationalities were observed on mHb, HC, CHL, PW and MH and these differences were significantly predicted by PW and MH. The significance of these differences and their contributing factors needs further research.
Abdur Rahman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Life Sciences at Kuwait University.
Email: abdurrahman.ahmad@ku.edu.kw