Determinants of neural tube defect spinal bifida in tigray region Ethiopia a case control study 2015/16

Background- Spinal bifida is a common congenital malformation in human and is defined as a disorder of the spinal vertebra due to a failure to closure the caudal part of the Neural tube or a baby's spine does not close completely during early pregnancy. Spinal bifida is one of the complex disorder that cause lifelong disability, dependency and it has an impact on the growth and development of a country. However, evidences on the determinants of spinal bifida in Ethiopia are scarce. Objective: the main objective of the study wasto identify the determinant factors for development of spinal bifida in Tigray Region. Methods: A Case control study was employed and data collection was conducted from Jan to April 2015/16. A convenient sampling technique was used to select the 79 case mothers who delivered in Ayder referral hospital in Mekelle city. As we know the number of cases is limited (i.e. SB is not a common disease) so we can increase the number of controls per case to increase power. The incremental gain after 4 controls per case i.e.316 control mothers was selected. Data collection was conducted by interviewing with structured pre-tested Questionnaire method. Data was entered into SPSS Version 20 and cleaned before analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to see the prediction of each independent factor with the dependent variable. Results and conclusions: - In conclusion, the study revealed that determinants of spinal bifida are No intake of iron during pregnancy, History of anemia in the current pregnancy, low intake of milk and milk products, No intake of fruits and vegetables. The mother who did not take iron during pregnancy was 5.74 times more likely to have child with spinal bifida than those who took iron during pregnancy.