Differential effects of socio-demographic factors on maternal haemoglobin concentration in three sub-Saharan African Countries

Low Haemoglobin concentration (Hb) among women of reproductive age is a severe public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated the effects of putative socio-demographic factors on maternal Hb at different points of the conditional distribution of Hb concentration. We utilised quantile regression to analyse the Demographic and Health Surveys data from Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mozambique. In Ghana, maternal schooling had a positive effect on Hb of mothers in the 5th and 10th quantiles. A one-year increase in education was associated with an increase in Hb across all quantiles in Mozambique. Conversely, a year increase in schooling was associated with a decrease in Hb of mothers in the three upper quantiles in DRC. A unit change in body mass index had a positive effect on Hb of mothers in the 5th, 10th, 50th and 90th, and 5th to 50th quantiles in Ghana and Mozambique, respectively. We observed differential effects of breastfeeding on maternal Hb across all quantiles in the three countries. The effects of socio-demographic factors on maternal Hb vary at the various points of its distribution. Interventions to address maternal anaemia should take these variations into account to identify the most vulnerable groups.