PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS AND PATTERNS OF HEMATOLOGICAL ABNORMALITIES AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN NAROWAL
Abstract
Hepatitis B and C infections and hematological abnormalities such as anemia and thrombocytopenia, are critical health issues during pregnancy that pose serious risks to both maternal and fetal outcomes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hematological abnormalities among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in District Narowal, Punjab, Pakistan. In total, 225 diagnostic reports were taken into consideration during the nine months interval (October 2024-June 2025) of pregnant women from the following different municipal (District headquarters hospital) and non-municipal hospitals (Fatima, Saadat, Shukar Deen and Safeena). Hematological parameters were assessed using complete blood count (CBC) reports, while HBV and HCV infections were determined using HBsAg and anti-HCV serological test results. The data were categorized into age groups, and the association between age and disease prevalence was analyzed using the Chi-square test. The 4 percent of the women were Hepatitis B positive and 18.2 percent of Hepatitis C positive. Among the most common types of hematological abnormalities were microcytic anemia (51 percent), normocytic anemia (24 percent), thrombocytopenia (9 percent) and leukopenia (1 percent). The reported chi-square statistic for age category and hepatitis positivity exceeded the critical value (χ²=10.23, df=2; critical χ²=5.99 at α=0.05) whereas the reported statistic for hematological abnormalities (χ²=4.56, df=6; critical χ²=12.59 at α=0.05) did not exceed the critical value. The study provides a weighty disease burden between viral hepatitis and hematological abnormalities in the women of reproductive age of the region.
Keywords
- Pregnant women, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hematological abnormalities, Chi-square test.
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