Post-traumatic stress disorder and association with low birth weight in displaced population following conflict in Malakand division, Pakistan: a case control study

The northern part of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan experienced armed conflict since September 2007 till the autumn of 2011. Conflict involved widespread insurgency activity and military intervention including in 2009 internally displacing the 2.5 million people of the valley of Swat to live in camps, with relatives, or in rented accommodation across the region for approximately 4 months. It was during this period the current study was conducted to determine whether Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in pregnant women was independently associated with Low Birth Weight (LBW) in an area affected by conflict and militancy. A case control study was conducted in tertiary care hospitals of district Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Two hundred twenty-five cases (neonates with birth weight 2.5 kg) were enrolled within 24 h of delivery. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was assessed through the MINI Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0, a validated questionnaire along with the birth weight of the newborn. Maternal anthropometry, anemia and other sociodemographic details were also obtained during data collection. Data was analyzed using statistical package (STATA version 14). Logistic regression analysis of the association between LBW and all variables collected with a p-value of