School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
School of Education, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 5;19(13):8222. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19138222.
Adolescent pregnancy is a major health concern which has lifelong consequences. The aim of this study is to examine the regional trends and socioeconomic predictors of adolescent pregnancy in Nigeria. This study used pooled data from the 2008, 2013 and 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). A total of 22,761 women aged 15-19 years were selected across the three surveys. Multilevel logistic regression analysis that adjusted for cluster and survey weights was used to identify predictors of adolescent pregnancy in Nigeria, across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Adolescent pregnancy remained constant between 2008 (22.9%; 95% CI = 22.14, 24.66), and 2013 (22.5%; 95% CI = 20.58, 24.50), but a significant decline was reported in 2018 (18.7%; 95% CI = 17.12, 20.46). Trends show a decrease in adolescent pregnancy across all six geopolitical zones, except for the South-East zone which reported a slight increase (0.6%). Multivariable analysis revealed that the main socioeconomic predictors across all six geopolitical zones were: poor households, increasing age, and low education. Exposure to media (watching television and reading newspapers) was reported as predictor in all regions except the North-East geopolitical zone, while all northern zones reported high levels of adolescent pregnancy in male-led households. To address adolescent pregnancy in Nigeria, there is need to promote girls' education especially among poor households, and for the dissemination of reproductive health messages to adolescents through various forms of mass media campaign, as well as the adoption of social marketing interventions to improve sexual and reproductive health literacy.
青少年怀孕是一个重大的健康问题，会带来终身影响。本研究旨在探讨尼日利亚青少年怀孕的地区趋势和社会经济预测因素。本研究使用了 2008 年、2013 年和 2018 年尼日利亚人口与健康调查（NDHS）的汇总数据。在这三次调查中，共选择了 22761 名年龄在 15-19 岁的妇女。使用多水平逻辑回归分析，调整了聚类和调查权重，以确定尼日利亚青少年怀孕的预测因素，跨越尼日利亚的六个地缘政治区域。2008 年（22.9%；95%CI=22.14,24.66）和 2013 年（22.5%；95%CI=20.58,24.50）之间，青少年怀孕率保持不变，但 2018 年报告青少年怀孕率显著下降（18.7%；95%CI=17.12,20.46）。趋势显示，除东南部地区略有增加（0.6%）外，所有六个地缘政治区域的青少年怀孕率都有所下降。多变量分析显示，所有六个地缘政治区域的主要社会经济预测因素是：贫困家庭、年龄增长和教育程度低。除了东北部地区外，所有地区都报告称，接触媒体（看电视和读报）是预测因素，而所有北部地区都报告称，在男性主导的家庭中，青少年怀孕率较高。为了解决尼日利亚的青少年怀孕问题，需要促进女孩的教育，特别是在贫困家庭中，并通过各种形式的大众媒体宣传活动向青少年传播生殖健康信息，以及采取社会营销干预措施，提高性和生殖健康知识水平。
