PREVALENCE AND ETIOLOGICAL FACTORS OF MISCARRIAGE AMONG WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE IN KOHAT

Abstract

Background: Miscarriage is a common complication of pregnancy, but district-level evidence from Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan, is limited. This study describes selected infectious, haematological, metabolic and obstetric characteristics among women presenting with confirmed pregnancy loss. Methods: A hospital-based descriptive study included 50 women aged 15–49 years with confirmed intrauterine pregnancy loss up to 23 weeks. Data included obstetric ultrasound, haemoglobin, random blood sugar, blood pressure, ABO/Rh status, Brucella serology, Toxoplasma IgG/IgM, hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-HCV. Descriptive statistics, Wilson 95% confidence intervals, chi-square/Fisher exact tests, Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis and Spearman correlation were used. Results: Missed abortion was the most frequent ultrasound classification (40.0%), and 80.0% of losses occurred in the first trimester. Toxoplasma IgG or IgM positivity was 36.0%, Brucella titres ≥1:160 were 34.0%, Rh-negative status 20.0%, anaemia 16.0%, elevated random blood sugar 16.0%, recurrent miscarriage 16.0%, anti-HCV positivity 14.0%, and hypertension 12.0%. No tested categorical association with miscarriage subtype was statistically significant (p > .05). Conclusion: Infectious seropositivity and several maternal health factors were common among women presenting with pregnancy loss in Kohat. Because this was a small, facility-based cohort without a non-miscarriage comparison group, the findings describe the recruited cohort and do not establish population prevalence or causation.