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.