Prevalence of placenta praevia by world region: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: (i) To estimate the prevalence burden of placenta praevia in each world region, and (ii) to investigate potential sources of heterogeneity. METHODS: Systematic review of the literature and random-effects meta-analysis. Potential sources of heterogeneity were investigated using meta-regression. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of placenta praevia was 5.2 per 1000 pregnancies (95% CI: 4.5-5.9). However, there was evidence of regional variation (P = 0.0001); prevalence was highest among Asian studies (12.2 per 1000 pregnancies; 95% CI: 9.5-15.2) and lower among studies from Europe (3.6 per 1000 pregnancies; 95% CI: 2.8-4.6), North America (2.9 per 1000 pregnancies; 95% CI: 2.3-3.5) and Sub-Saharan Africa (2.7 per 1000 pregnancies; 95% CI: 0.3-11.0). The prevalence of major placenta praevia was 4.3 per 1000 pregnancies (95% CI: 3.3-5.4). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of placenta praevia is low at around 5 per 1000 pregnancies. There is some evidence suggestive of regional variation in its prevalence, but it is not possible to determine from existing data whether this is due to true ethnic differences or other unknown factor(s)

Iodine status of pregnant women in a metropolitan city which proved to be an iodine-sufficient area. Is mandatory salt iodisation enough for pregnant women?

PubMed ID: 26489983The objective of this study was to assess the iodine status of pregnant women in a metropolitan city which was stated as iodine sufficient area after salt iodination program. This multicenter, cross-sectional study was carried out on 3543 pregnant women. Age, gestational weeks, smoking, consumption of iodized salt, dietary salt restriction, history of stillbirth, abortus and congenital malformations were questioned. Spot urine samples were analyzed for urine iodine concentration (UIC). The outcomes were: (a) median UIC in three trimesters of pregnancy and (b) frequency of ID among pregnant women. The median UIC was 73 ?g/L. The median UIC was 77 ?g/L (1-324), 73 ?g/L (1-600) and 70 ?g/L (1-1650) in three trimesters of pregnancy, respectively (p: 0.14). UIC <50 ?g/L was observed in 36.6% (n: 1295) and UIC<150 ?g/L was observed in 90.7% (n: 3214) of pregnant women. Only 1% (n: 34) of the pregnant women had UIC levels higher than 500 ?g/L. This study showed that more than 90% of the pregnant women in this iodine-sufficient city are facing some degree of iodine deficiency during their pregnancy. A salt iodization program might be satisfactory for the non-pregnant population, but it seems to be insufficient for the pregnant population. © 2015 Taylor & Francis