Seasonal incidence of eclampsia and its relationship to meteorological data in Mozambique

Gestational hypertension is common in Mozambique. In a prospective study lasting 12 months every case of eclampsia in Maputo city was registered. The monthly ratio of eclampsia cases to births was calculated. With the purpose to test the hypothesis of a correlation between meteorological data and eclampsia incidence, monthly averages of temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure were tabulated. Temperature (p less than 0.005) and atmospheric pressure (p less than 0.001) were significantly associated with the eclampsia/birth ratio. Humidity showed no significant association. We conclude that there is a statistical association between eclampsia incidence and air temperature and atmospheric pressure, respectively.