Incidence, Risk Factors and Outcome of the Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in Jamaica

Abstract

Information on the signs and symptoms of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was collected for over 10,000 women as part of the Jamaican Perinatal Study and comprised all women living in Jamaica who delivered singletons after 27 weeks gestation during September and October 1986 (n=10, 201). The incidences of antenatal diastolic hypertension, proteinuric pre -eclampsia were 10.4%, 4.1% and 7.1 per 1000 respectively. Risk factors for developing antenatal diastolic hypertension included primiparity, maternal age over 30 years, the midwife's subjective assessments of abnormal weight gain during pregnancy and nutritional status, a history of prior hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and the region of residence. Risk factors for developing proteinuric pre-eclampsia were maternal age over 25 years and nutritional status for primiparae and maternal age over 35 years, subjective assessments of abnormal maternal weight gain and nutritional status and a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in multiparae. Primiparae aged ≤16 years old were of greatly increased risk of eclampsia. Diastolic hypertension and proteinuria 2+ or more were associated with substantially elevated perinatal mortality and low birth weight rates.