A facility-based study of lipids, glucose levels and their correlates among pregnant women in public hospitals of northern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Lipids and glucose concentrations in the blood rise during pregnancy period. Poor control of these analytes results in cardio metabolic dysfunction. Despite this, there are no documented studies which investigate lipids and glucose among pregnant women in Tigrai, northern Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess lipid and glucose levels and identify their correlates among pregnant women in Tigrai, northern Ethiopia. METHOD: We conducted a facility-based cross sectional study comprising of systematically selected 200 pregnant women from July to October 2021. Those who were severely ill were excluded from the study. We used a structured questionnaire to collect socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of pregnant women. Lipids such as triglycerides, low density lipoprotein, cholesterol and blood glucose were also measured using Cobas C311 chemistry machine from plasma samples. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Logistic regression was performed and statistical significance was declared at p-value < 0.05. RESULT: Proportion of pregnant women with cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein and blood glucose levels above the upper limit of the normal range used for clinical decision were 26.5%, 43%, 44.5% and 21%, respectively. Pregnant women’s income > = 10,000 ETB (AOR = 3.35; 95%CI: 1.46–7.66), age (AOR = 3.16; 95%CI: 1.03–9.68), gestational age 29–37 weeks (AOR = 8.02; 95%CI: 2.69–23.90) and having systolic blood pressure greater than 120 mmHg (AOR = 3.99; 95%CI: 1.64–9.75) demonstrated statistically significant association with raised levels of lipids. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: Proportion of pregnant women with out of normal range values of lipids, particularly triglycerides and low density lipoprotein, is high. Gestational age is a strong predictor of increase in blood levels for both lipids. Provision of life style related health education and dietary intake to pregnant mothers matters. Moreover, monitoring lipid profile and glucose level during antenatal care period is essential.