Pill count adherence to prenatal multivitamin/mineral supplement use among low-income women

Sunitha Jasti1, Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Mary E Cogswell

  • 1Department of Family, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, Queens College of City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367, USA. sunitha_jasti@qc.edu

In the United States, the prevalence of third trimester anemia among low-income pregnant women is 29% and has not improved since the 1980s. Although low adherence has been linked to the ineffectiveness of iron supplementation programs, data regarding adherence to supplementation in low-income women are currently lacking. Hence this study was conducted to better understand the factors associated with adherence to the use of iron-containing prenatal multivitamin/mineral supplements among low-income pregnant women. Adherence to supplement use was assessed by pill counts among 244 pregnant women of 867 women who were initially randomized to receive 1 of 3 prenatal supplements. All women received care at a public prenatal clinic. Maternal characteristics associated with adherence were identified using predictive modeling. Women took 74% of supplements as prescribed. Adherence was higher among non-Hispanic white women than among non-Hispanic black women (79% vs. 72%, P

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