Preeclampsia: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Impact on Mother and Fetus

Abstract

Preeclampsia is one of the most common hypertensive disorders in pregnancy accounting for >50,000 maternal deaths, and over 500,000 fetal deaths worldwide. The incidence of preeclampsia is estimated to be 7 times higher in developing countries like India. Women with preeclampsia are several folds more likely to contract cardiovascular diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and thromboembolism later in life. This study aims to record the prevalence of preeclampsia, examine the incidence of various associated risk factors and document, and analyze the effects preeclampsia has on the mother and fetus. A cross-sectional study was conducted. Five hundred pregnant women were randomly selected based on availability of medical records. Prevalence of preeclampsia was identified in them and the preeclamptic population was further studied for various risk factors and epidemiological factors. The impact on mother and fetus was also studied. The data obtained from the medical records were entered into MS excel and variables were expressed as frequency and proportions. Analysis was done on SPSS 26.0 and major data were subjected to Chi-square test for determining significance. Out of a total of 500 pregnant women, 31 developed preeclampsia; hence, the prevalence of preeclampsia was found to be 6.2%. Of the 31 preeclamptic women, majority belonged to the 20–29 age group (51.6%), 19 (61.2%) had a pre-pregnancy body mass index >23, thus being classified as overweight or obese. Thirteen of these 19 (41.9%) were obese class 1, while 5 (16.1%) were obese class 2. Only two patients were multiparous, while nulliparous and primiparous women accounted for 48.38 and 45.16% of preeclamptic women. Twenty of the 31 women had preeclampsia with severe features and this was found to be significantly associated with delivering a baby having lower birth weight (P < 0.05). A significant 45.1% (14 of the 31 women) had to undergo preterm delivery and 48.38% of the preeclamptic women terminated pregnancy by a lower segment cesarean section. Two of the women were also diagnosed with elevated liver enzymes and low platelets syndrome. With respect to the fetal outcomes, 48.4% of infants had low birth weight. Intrauterine fetal death, fetal growth restriction, and cleft lip and palate were also documented in few neonates. Preeclampsia has a high morbidity and mortality rate as well as an increased risk for future cardiovascular diseases. Hence, risk factors which are in an individual’s self-control such as weight must be modified to prevent unfavorable complications. Pregnant women at risk of preeclampsia should be identified and high-quality antenatal care should be given to minimize the complications of preeclampsia both for the mother and the fetus. More research avenues must be explored on this subject so that enhanced treatment and management options can emerge.