Journal of Community Health, Vol. 20, No. 6, December 1995 RISK FACTORS FOR SPONTANEOUS ABORTION AMONG SAUDI WOMEN Lubna A. AI-Ansary, MBBS, MSc, MRCGP; Gbolahan Oni, PhD; and Zainab A. Babay, MBBS ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to identify important risk fac- tors for spontaneous abortion (SA) among Saudi women. It was a case- control study conducted at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The cases were 226 consecutive women hospitalized for SA between October 1992 and January 1993. The controls were 226 consecu- tive women who had normal delivery in the same hospital during the same period. Bivariate analysis using chi-square tests and estimates of reb ative risks indicated a positive association of age at menarche with risk of SA (P<0.01). Also, there was a significant higher risk of SA when a woman was married to a blood related husband than if married to a non relative (RRffi 2.1). The number of previous abortions was also positively related to the risk of SA in the current pregnancy (P<0.01). Compared to primigravidas, the risk of SA was 3.2 times greater than if the outcome of the most recent pregnancy was also an SA. Other factors that had significant bivariate association with SA were a family history of SA, ab- dominal trauma, and infection during pregnancy. When multiple logistic regression was used to adjust for the effects of confounding variables, all the factors that showed significant bivariate association with SA (except outcome of the last pregnancy) remained significant. Early menarche may be protective, but further study is needed to confirm this. Greater attention should be given to pregnant women who had personal or fam- ily history of SA and those who had trauma and/or infection during pregnancy. Premarital counselling concerning consanguineous marriages is recommended. INTRODUCTION Spontaneous abortion (SA) is a known complication in about 15-20% of clinically recognized pregnancies?: In some developing coun- tries, the corresponding figures seem to be lower? All figures, however, may be an underestimate of the true incidence of SA as many women lose their fetuses during the first month without being aware that they were pregnant, and the condition may be considered as a heavy menstrual pe- Lubna A. AI-Ansaryis Assistant Professor of Family Medicine; Gbolahan Oni is Consultant Statistician; Zainab A. Babay is Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,all at the College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. L. A. AI-Ansary, P.O. Box 4556, Riyadh 11412, Saudi Arabia. 9 1995 Human Sciences Press, Inc. 491