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The Neglected Problem of Obesity during Pregnancy in Mexico: Secondary Data Analysis of the 2018 National Survey of Health and Nutrition

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Abstract

Objectives

To compare sociodemographic and clinical characteristics among obese and non-obese women in Mexico and analyze the association between obesity and pregnancy complications.

Methods

We conducted a secondary data analysis of the 2018–2019 Mexican National Survey of Health and Nutrition. We included women aged 20–49 years who had at least one live birth in the five years preceding the survey (n = 1573). We performed a double-weighted (by IP-weights and survey-weights) multilevel multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results

Obesity was prevalent in 32% of pregnant women. Obese and non-obese women received similar antenatal care. 42.6% of obese women, compared to 33.6% of non-obese had one or more pregnancy or labor complications. Compared with non-obese women, obese women were older and had more chronic diseases. Obesity was associated with a 48% increase in the probability of complications.

Conclusion

Due to the high prevalence of obesity among Mexican women of reproductive age and given the independent association between obesity and complications during pregnancy and labor, the development and implementation of specific clinical guidelines on weight management before conception, during pregnancy, and post-partum for women who are obese is an unmet need in Mexico.

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Data Availability

The database analyzed during the current study is publicly available at: http://ensanut.insp.mx/.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

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Funding

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology and Health Services Research Unit CMN Siglo XXI, Mexican Institute of Social Security, Av Cuauhtémoc 330. Col. Doctores, 06720, Mexico City, Mexico

    Svetlana V. Doubova

  2. Center for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Avenida Universidad 655, Santa María Ahuacatitlán, 62100, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Eduardo Ortiz-Panozo

  3. Division of Social Protection and Health, Jamaica Country Office, Interamerican Development Bank, 6 Montrose Ave, Kingston 6, Kingston, Jamaica

    Ricardo Pérez-Cuevas

Authors
  1. Svetlana V. Doubova
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  2. Eduardo Ortiz-Panozo
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  3. Ricardo Pérez-Cuevas
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Contributions

Conceptualization: SVD; RPC. Methodology: SVD; RPC, EOP. Formal Analysis: SVD. Writing ? original draft: SVD, RPC. Writing – Review & Editing: SVD, RPC, EOP. Final approval of the version to be published: SVD, RPC, EOP.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Svetlana V. Doubova.

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Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Ethics Approval

This study is a secondary data analysis of the ENSANUT 2018. The data for the analysis were requested and obtained from the surveys public repository hosted at the National Institute of Public Health webpage at: http://ensanut.insp.mx/. This repository has already de-identified data, making it impossible to trace any information to the actual individual. In accordance with the Internal Regulation of the Research Ethics Committee of the National Institute of Public Health, this secondary analysis was considered exempt of approval.

Consent to Participate

This is a secondary data analysis of the ENSANUT 2018 survey. All ENSANUT 2018 survey participants gave their verbal consent before participation in the survey.

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Doubova, S.V., Ortiz-Panozo, E. & Pérez-Cuevas, R. The Neglected Problem of Obesity during Pregnancy in Mexico: Secondary Data Analysis of the 2018 National Survey of Health and Nutrition. Matern Child Health J 27, 70–81 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-022-03504-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-022-03504-4

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