Food insecurity and its link to haemoglobin level: a cross-sectional study in pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur

Mohd Nordin, Che Nadhatul Ilani (2019) Food insecurity and its link to haemoglobin level: a cross-sectional study in pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 estimated that the prevalence of anaemia in Malaysian adults was 24.6%, whereas Kuala Lumpur with 27.6% was the 4th federal with the highest prevalence of anaemia. Pregnant women is vulnerable to anaemia since pregnancy is often associated with increased iron demand. The prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women in Malaysia was 38.3%, and 48.8% of them were from Kuala Lumpur. There are many factors that might affect haemoglobin level and food security status, and socio-demographic factors have been shown to be the factors that might affect haemoglobin level. Therefore, the study was aimed to investigate the associations between food security status, socio-demographic factors and haemoglobin level in pregnant women in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 183 pregnant women who went for antenatal check-up in antenatal clinics in Kuala Lumpur with a mean age of of 29.33 + 4.60 years completed a questionnaire on socio-demographic and food security status. Haemoglobin levels were retrieved from the medical records. A Pearson coefficient correlation and Chi-squared test were used to determine the association between the variables. Haemoglobin level was found to be associated with food security status (r=-0.297, p<0.01), age (r=0.217, p=0.003), and monthly household income (r=0.280, p<0.0 1 ). However, there was no significant association found between ethnicity, gravidity, parity, and educational level with haemoglobin level. Based on the findings, food security status, age, and monthly household income affects the haemoglobin level during pregnancy. These findings highlighted that financial constraint may lead to food insecurity which then affects the haemoglobin level of pregnant women.

Item Type:	Project Paper
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Ms Norafizah Radzuan
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2025 02:57
Last Modified:	30 Sep 2025 02:57
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/2555

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