Anemia Among Women Seeking Treatment For Uterine Fibroids In Three Selected Hospitals In Accra Metropolis

ABSTRACT Background: Anemia, defined as blood hemoglobin level below established cut-off points, is a pervasive global public health problem. An estimated 2 billion people are affected globally. Anemia prevalence is highest in developing countries but also high in developed countries. Worldwide, over 30% of all women suffer from anemia, with abnormal uterine bleeding being a risk factor for anemia. Uterine fibroids are the most common benign gynecologic tumors affecting premenopausal women, with commonest presentation being abnormal uterine bleeding. The current study aim to assess the relationship between anemia and heavy bleeding as a result of uterine fibroids among women seeking care in three selected hospitals in the Accra Metropolis. Method: A sample of 385 non-pregnant women with uterine fibroids were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional survey. Data on uterine size, fibroid location, hemoglobin level and reason(s) why they seek treatment was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS Version 23. Means and medians of continuous variables and proportions of categorical variables were calculated. Associations between continuous variables were determined using Pearson correlation while between categorical variables using Chi-Square, Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression. All of these statistics were tested at 95% confidence level and standard error of 5%. Findings: The current study found that 8 in 10 women seeking care for uterine fibroids had anemia. There was an association between uterine fibroid location and anemia (p =0.002) but not uterine size and anemia (r = 0.014, p = 0.779). Also 79.5% of the women sought care due uterine fibroid symptoms, inability to conceive (36.9%), cosmetic reasons (7.5%) and risk of cancer (1.6%).