Determinants Of Syphilis Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care In Ambo Town Public Health Facilities, Oromia, Ethiopia; A Case Control Study

Abstract

Background: Syphilis is a bacterial sexually transmitted bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum. Its global burden is high, with an estimated twelve million people infected each year. Untreated cases of syphilis can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes, including stillbirth, fetal loss, neonatal death, prematurity, and low birth weight. Objective: To identify determinants of syphilis among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Ambo town public health facilities, Ethiopia, 2024. Methods: Facility based case control study was conducted from May 10 to July 10, 2024. A total of 374 pregnant women (93 cases and 281controls) were included. Cases were selected by Convenience sampling technique and systematic random sampling method was used to select controls. The data were collected using the Kobo Tool box android application and exported to SPSS version 25 for coding, cleaning and analysis. Descriptive statistics were done by cross-tabulation. Binary logistic regression was fitted and those variables with P-value less than 0.25 was transferred to multivariable logistic regression, then variables with P-value less than 0.05 on multivariable analysis was declared as statistically significant. Adjusted odds ratio along with 95% confidence interval was used to show strength of association. The model fitness was checked by Hosmer and Lemeshow test. Multi collinearity was checked by variance inflation factor and no strong multi collinearity was identified. Results: A total of 350 pregnant women (87 cases and 263 controls) were participated in this study. Unable to read and write (AOR=2.81, 95% CI: 1.23, 6.44), previous history of STIs (AOR=3.16, 95% CI: 1.75, 5.73), didn’t access to media (AOR=2.40, 95% CI: 1.25, 4.58) and poor knowledge about syphilis (AOR=5.57, 95% CI: 3.07, 10.1) were found to be significant determinants of syphilis among pregnant women. Conclusion and Recommendation: This study revealed that unable to read and write, history of STIs, didn’t access to media and poor knowledge about syphilis were found to be the determinants of syphilis among pregnant women. Thus, it is recommended that pregnant women should receive health education about syphilis, its modes of transmission, methods of prevention and adverse outcome of getting syphilis infection.