Smokeless Tobacco Use & Anaemia Among Pregnant Women in Karad Taluk Western Maharashtra: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: ‘Smokeless tobacco’ is the term used for the tobacco that is consumed in un-burnt form and it can be used orally or nasal- ly. Mishri (masheri or misheri) is one of the smokeless tobacco used as dentifrice. It has been observed that smoking during pregnancy is associated with anaemia in mothers & their babies. Objective of the study was to assess the magnitude of anaemia among users & non- users of mishri & correlation with cotinine levels in the blood. Methods: A comparative study was conducted at Krishna hospital, Karad in 2011 among delivered women using and not using mishri. Blood levels of Haemoglobin & cotinine were estimated. Results: The mean Hb% was found significantly lower among users compared to nonusers of Mishri during pregnancy (t= -8.16, p=0.001) whereas no significant difference was found in calorie consumption & iron intake among both groups. There is a significant Negative Correlation (r= -0418, p=0.01) between Cotinine levels in the blood and Haemoglobin level among users of Mishri. Conclusion: There is a need to find out effects of smokeless tobacco use during pregnancy and pathophysiology of anaemia among users of smokeless form of tobacco.

Keywords

• Mishri
• Anaemia
• Cotinine
• Correlation