Adolescent pregnancy outcomes and risk factors in Malaysia.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the outcomes and risk factors of adolescent pregnancies in 2 major hospitals in Malaysia.


METHODS
We conducted a case-control study of pregnant girls aged 10 through 19 years. The controls were women aged 20 through 35 years who did not become pregnant in their adolescence. Cases and controls were matched for parity and place of delivery. Data were collected from questionnaires and the hospitals' medical records.


RESULTS
The study included 102 cases and 102 controls. There were significant associations between adolescent pregnancy and low education level, low socioeconomic status, being raised by a single parent, not engaging in extracurricular school activities, engaging in unsupervised activities with peers after school, and substance abuse (P<0.05 for all); being anemic, being unsure of the expected delivery date, and having few antenatal visits and a late delivery booking; and low Apgar scores and perinatal complications.


CONCLUSIONS
Adolescent pregnancies are high-risk pregnancies. Better sexual health strategies are required to address the associated complications.
Omar
Khairani
K
Family Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. khairanio@gmail.com
Hasim
Suriati
S
Muhammad
Noor Azimah
NA
Jaffar
Aida
A
Hashim
Syahnaz Mohd
SM
Siraj
Harlina Halizah
HH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012307:Risk Factors; D012736:Sex Education; D020954:Single-Parent Family / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012923:Social Class; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult