Prevalence and Associated Factors of Hypertension among Pregnant Women Attending Aldayat and Saad Abu Elela Teaching Hospital Khartoum State -2020
Authors: Haroun A.A.A. , Abdalmajed M.A. , Abdalla M.A. 
Published: April 2023

Background:  Pregnancy induced Hypertensive are the major causes of severe acute morbidity, long-term disability and death among mothers and babies. The worldwide prevalence of pre-eclampsia is 5–10%.

Objectives:  The objective of the study was to study the prevalence and associated factors of pregnancy-induced hypertension among pregnant women attending Aldayat and Saad Abu Elela Teaching Hospital Khartoum State-2020.

Materials and methods:  This descriptive hospital-based study was conducted in Aldayat and Saad Abu Elela Teaching Hospitals, the study covered all pregnant women in a period of two months from January to February 2020 to obtain a sample size of 239 pregnant women. Data were collected using WHO standardized questionnaire after modification to suit the study. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Studies (SPSS) version 23. The association between different variables was checked using the chi-square test, P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension among pregnant women was 7.5%. The distribution of prevalence of hypertension associating to age group among those affected:  44.4%  among age group 18-30 years old then 33.3% among  age group less than 18 year old and 11.1% in both group 31-45 and >45 years old , respectively. The study revealed that the associated factors of hypertension among pregnant women were: Family history and first relative relationship, number of pregnancies, follow-up blood pressure during pregnancy, with 39%, 100.0%, 44.3%,100.0% , respectively, socio-demographic characteristics such as education level illiterate 5.5% khalwa 27.7% primary/basic 5.5% intermediate/secondary 25.5% university/post-university 33.3%),employment status employed 41%, Not employed 59%,nature of work sitting 27.8% Stand22.2%, Moved33.3%, all mentioned 16.7%,no. of hours per shift4 hours 11.7% 5-8 hours 56.1% > 8 hours 32.2%, family monthly income in SDG< 1500 31.1%, 1500-3500 38.9%, > 3500 29.7%. From the interview with Medical Director and the Metron the main factors associated with hypertension were: family history, nutrition status, the number of pregnancies and obesity. The statistics showed a strong association between blood pressure among pregnant women from a side and education level, the number of pregnancies, follow-up during the pregnancy and family history from another side with P-value = 0.01, 0.02, 0.01 , 0.026 , 0.02 , respectively. There was no association between employment status, nature of work, increase of blood pressure during and before pregnancy, knowledge and time of diagnosis from a side and hypertension among pregnant women from another side with P-values (0.4, 0.47, 0.38, 0.42, 0.35) , respectively.

Conclusion: The study revealed that the prevalence of hypertension among pregnant women associated with many factors such as: family history, age group, and follow-up during pregnancy, level of education, so based on the findings the study recommended that the pregnant women should be sensitized on the preventive measures for managing high blood pressure, health and nutrition education including physical education for all pregnant women with particular emphasis on the most affected age group, and there must be continued follow-up.