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The Prevalence of Alcohol Consumption Among Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

Background

Evidence indicates that a significant proportion of women drink alcohol during pregnancy. Studies have also suggested that prenatal alcohol consumption was associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to systematically summarize the available evidence on the epidemiology of alcohol consumption among pregnant women in Ethiopia and suggest evidence based recommendations for future clinical practice.

Methods

This systematic review and meta-analysis was followed the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, SCOPUS and EMBASE databases were searched to identify relevant articles that assessed alcohol consumption among pregnant women in Ethiopia. The Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software version 3.0 was used to conduct a meta-analysis using the random-effect model. Cochran’s Q- and I2-tests were used to assess the heterogeneity of the included studies.

Results

A total of 6361 pregnant women from fifteen primary studies were included in the final analysis. The pooled prevalence estimate of alcohol consumption among pregnant women in Ethiopia was found to be 14.1%. The pooled prevalence of alcohol consumption among pregnant women in Ethiopia was reported to be lower in the studies that used the standardized alcohol consumption assessment tools (9.4%) when compared to the studies that did not use standardized tools (17%). The pooled prevalence of alcohol consumption among pregnant women ranged between 12.8% and 15.5% in leave-one-out sensitivity analysis.

Conclusion

A considerable number of women in Ethiopia consume alcohol during pregnancy. Therefore, early identification and intervention strategies are highly recommended.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.

Abbreviations

CAGE:

Cut-Annoyed-Guilty-Eye opener

TACE:

Tolerance-Annoyed-Cut-down-Eye opener

AUDIT:

Alcohol use disorders identification test

DSM:

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

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Acknowledgements

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The author declares that there was no funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Heath Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia

    Bereket Duko & Asres Bedaso

  2. Curtin School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia

    Bereket Duko & Getinet Ayano

  3. Australian Centre for Public and Population Health Research, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia

    Asres Bedaso

  4. Health System Strengthening Directorate, Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Sintayehu Wolka

  5. School of Medical Sciences, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia

    Temesgen Tantu

  6. Sodo Christian General Hospital, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia

    Dereje Wolde

  7. Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Getinet Ayano

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  1. Bereket Duko
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Contributions

The author (BD) conceptualized the study, performed the search and quality assessment, conducted the analyses, developed, and drafted the manuscript, and approved the final manuscript. SW, DW, TT, GA and AB performed the search, data extraction, quality assessment and approved the final manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Bereket Duko.

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Duko, B., Bedaso, A., Wolka, S. et al. The Prevalence of Alcohol Consumption Among Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Matern Child Health J 26, 1800–1810 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-021-03286-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-021-03286-1

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