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%).
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Conclusion:
The study documented high prevalence of anemia among women with uterine fibroids.
Anemia was significantly associated with uterine fibroid location but not uterine size. A
large proportion of women with uterine fibroids sought care as a result of symptoms due
to fibroids.