Prevalence and risk factors for persistent hypertension after the puerperium in pregnancies complicated with hypertensive disorders

Abstract

New onset hypertensive disorders arising in the second half (>20 weeks) of pregnancy may persist beyond the puerperium. Using prospective follow-up data comprising information on 198 previously normotensive-non proteinuric women who developed hypertensive disorders after 20 weeks’ gestation, we examined the prevalence and risk factors for persistence of hypertension after the puerperium. The prevalence of persistent hypertension was 25.8%. Compared with normotensive women, maternal age ≥35 years (OR = 14.89; 95% CI, 3.2–67.8), serum creatinine level (OR = 5.91; 95% CI,1.5–22.8), serum uric acid (OR = 37.49; 95% CI, 10.4–140.0) and maternal HIV infection (OR = 14.18; 95% CI, 1.5–132.0) were independently associated with persistent hypertension. Identification of women at risk of developing chronic hypertension after the puerperium can prevent morbidities related to hypertension

Keywords::

• Hypertension
• Nigeria
• pregnancy
• prevalence
• puerperium

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of the Consultants and Resident Doctors of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.