Maternal risk factors in Afghan-refugees compared to Pakistani mothers in Peshawar, NWFP Pakistan

Objective: To determine the health risk factors associated with Afghan refugee mothers compared to Pakistani mothers. Method: A total of 1039 records of newborn and their mothers collected prospectively from the four publichospitals in Peshawar during August-November 2003 were analysed, using crude and adjusted odds ratios for the comparison. Results: The data revealed that low birthweight was 2.6 times higher in Afghan refugees compared to Pakistani mothers adjusting for all other important covariates. The univariate analysis highlighted a number of factors, however, the multivariate method established significant association of Afghan refugees with Tribal areas, older age and an un-registered pregnancy compared to Pakistani mothers. Conclusions: High geo-demographic risk factors were seen in Afghan refugee mothers; for which an appropriate strategy is required to provide reasonable healthcare facilities in the Tribal areas, and disseminate information regarding the risks involved in non-registration and old age pregnancies.