Incidence and risk factors for preeclampsia in a cohort of high-risk
pregnant women: a nested case-control study from South India
Abstract
Objective: To explore the incidence and risk factors of preeclampsia
(PE) among high- risk pregnant women in South India. Design: Nested
case-control study Setting: Tertiary referral hospital Population or
Sample: Pregnant women with risk for PE. Methods: Maternal
characteristics were prospectively collected, and risk factors were
assessed comparatively between women with risk for developing PE and
normotensive pregnant women using risk ratio (RR) (95% CI) plus
multivariate analysis. One hundred and seventy-four risk group pregnant
women were followed-up once in each trimester till delivery and noted
for the development of PE. Main Outcome Measures: Incidence and risk
factors of PE among high-risk pregnant women. Results: 67/174 women
developed PE, corresponding to an incidence of 38.51% among pregnant
women with risk for PE. Women in the age group of 30 and older reported
a higher incidence. Maternal factors like absence of a family history of
chronic hypertension, history of abortion, non-consanguineous marriage,
and AB blood group were significant protective factor and sex of the
new-born being female was a significant risk factor for developing PE.
Conclusion: This is the first Indian study that explored the incidence
and risk factors for PE among high-risk pregnant women. Incidence of PE
was higher among South Indian risk population. Female infants
significantly contributed to the PE risk. Funding: JIPMER Intramural
Research fund. Keywords: Preeclampsia; Incidence; South India; High-risk
women; Follow-up; Risk factors Tweetable abstract: The incidence of PE
is 38.51% and the significant risk factor is female foetus among
high-risk pregnant women.