Prospective Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis Seropositivity in Pregnant Women: The Fundamental Role of Community Healthcare Education
Background: The present study conducted a survey on awareness of toxoplasmosis infection, with an emphasis on risk factors, and an assessment of toxoplasmosis prevalence in pregnant women in Al-Kharj province of KSA. Methods and Results: A cross-sectional study with a qualitative approach was carr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Medical Research and Development Corporation
2021-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Biomedicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ijbm.org/articles/i44/ijbm_11(4)_oa26.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819174445975076864 |
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| author | Lienda Bashier Eltayeb Nasir Abdelrafie Hamad Abeer Abd Alla Ellhassan Babiker |
| author_facet | Lienda Bashier Eltayeb Nasir Abdelrafie Hamad Abeer Abd Alla Ellhassan Babiker |
| author_sort | Lienda Bashier Eltayeb |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The present study conducted a survey on awareness of toxoplasmosis infection, with an emphasis on risk factors, and an assessment of toxoplasmosis prevalence in pregnant women in Al-Kharj province of KSA.
Methods and Results: A cross-sectional study with a qualitative approach was carried out from August 2018 to February 2019. The study recruited all pregnant women who attended maternity and children’s outpatient clinics. The non-probability sampling approach was used to select 345 blood samples from study subjects. T. gondii-specific IgG and IgM antibodies were identified using ELISA. Each participant enrolled in the study was provided with a validated questionnaire to fill out by an assistant of the laboratory technician or an antenatal care nurse. In addition to socio-demographic data, simple closed-ended questions about established risk factors for T. gondii exposure were included in the questionnaire items, and answers were listed in a three-point Likert scale (agree, disagree, I am not sure). The overall prevalence of T. gondii-specific antibodies among study subjects was 12.75%; 29(8.40%) women were positive for IgG only, 9(2.6%) - for IgM, and 6(1.7%) - for both IgG and IgM antibodies.
About 41.4% of participants were in the first trimester of pregnancy; among them 31(9%) were positive for T. gondii antibodies. 82.8% of pregnant women had chronic infection in the first trimester, while 44.4% of those women also had an acute infection. The number of respondents to the questionnaire was 345 participants with a response rate of about 100%. It is important to note that 81.5% of women were unaware that toxoplasmosis is dangerous, and two-thirds of them didn't know the dangerous complications for the fetus and newborn.
Conclusion: The current study concludes that there is a low prevalence of toxoplasmosis among Saudi pregnant women in Al-Kharj province. A general program must be implemented to increase population awareness, especially among the at-risk populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:39:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-99a25a506ec4456c893e960c35ea72a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2158-0510 2158-0529 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:39:06Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | International Medical Research and Development Corporation |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Biomedicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-99a25a506ec4456c893e960c35ea72a02022-12-21T18:13:23ZengInternational Medical Research and Development CorporationInternational Journal of Biomedicine2158-05102158-05292021-12-0111455856310.21103/Article11(4)_OA26Prospective Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis Seropositivity in Pregnant Women: The Fundamental Role of Community Healthcare EducationLienda Bashier Eltayeb0Nasir Abdelrafie Hamad1Abeer Abd Alla Ellhassan Babiker2Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin AbdulAziz University- Al-Kharj, Riyadh, KSADepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Sciences and Technology, OmanDepartment of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin AbdulAziz University- Al-Kharj, Riyadh, KSABackground: The present study conducted a survey on awareness of toxoplasmosis infection, with an emphasis on risk factors, and an assessment of toxoplasmosis prevalence in pregnant women in Al-Kharj province of KSA. Methods and Results: A cross-sectional study with a qualitative approach was carried out from August 2018 to February 2019. The study recruited all pregnant women who attended maternity and children’s outpatient clinics. The non-probability sampling approach was used to select 345 blood samples from study subjects. T. gondii-specific IgG and IgM antibodies were identified using ELISA. Each participant enrolled in the study was provided with a validated questionnaire to fill out by an assistant of the laboratory technician or an antenatal care nurse. In addition to socio-demographic data, simple closed-ended questions about established risk factors for T. gondii exposure were included in the questionnaire items, and answers were listed in a three-point Likert scale (agree, disagree, I am not sure). The overall prevalence of T. gondii-specific antibodies among study subjects was 12.75%; 29(8.40%) women were positive for IgG only, 9(2.6%) - for IgM, and 6(1.7%) - for both IgG and IgM antibodies. About 41.4% of participants were in the first trimester of pregnancy; among them 31(9%) were positive for T. gondii antibodies. 82.8% of pregnant women had chronic infection in the first trimester, while 44.4% of those women also had an acute infection. The number of respondents to the questionnaire was 345 participants with a response rate of about 100%. It is important to note that 81.5% of women were unaware that toxoplasmosis is dangerous, and two-thirds of them didn't know the dangerous complications for the fetus and newborn. Conclusion: The current study concludes that there is a low prevalence of toxoplasmosis among Saudi pregnant women in Al-Kharj province. A general program must be implemented to increase population awareness, especially among the at-risk populations.http://ijbm.org/articles/i44/ijbm_11(4)_oa26.pdftoxoplasma gondiirisk factorsiggigmpregnancy |
| spellingShingle | Lienda Bashier Eltayeb Nasir Abdelrafie Hamad Abeer Abd Alla Ellhassan Babiker Prospective Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis Seropositivity in Pregnant Women: The Fundamental Role of Community Healthcare Education International Journal of Biomedicine toxoplasma gondii risk factors igg igm pregnancy |
| title | Prospective Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis Seropositivity in Pregnant Women: The Fundamental Role of Community Healthcare Education |
| title_full | Prospective Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis Seropositivity in Pregnant Women: The Fundamental Role of Community Healthcare Education |
| title_fullStr | Prospective Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis Seropositivity in Pregnant Women: The Fundamental Role of Community Healthcare Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prospective Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis Seropositivity in Pregnant Women: The Fundamental Role of Community Healthcare Education |
| title_short | Prospective Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis Seropositivity in Pregnant Women: The Fundamental Role of Community Healthcare Education |
| title_sort | prospective risk factors of toxoplasmosis seropositivity in pregnant women the fundamental role of community healthcare education |
| topic | toxoplasma gondii risk factors igg igm pregnancy |
| url | http://ijbm.org/articles/i44/ijbm_11(4)_oa26.pdf |
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