[Working conditions of women with arterial hypertension during pregnancy]

The relationship between working conditions and arterial hypertension (blood pressure greater than or equal to 140.90 Hg) during pregnancy has been studied from a representative sample of births in France in 1981. The study sample consisted of 2,587 women who had worked beyond the first trimester of pregnancy. The rate of arterial hypertension was 11%: it was higher for women who had to carry heavy loads or who worked in noisy environment, even if known risk factors of hypertension were taken into account. This relationship is obvious for women who were exposed for a long time--working hours or length of employment. Noise and carrying heavy loads seem related to arterial hypertension at different stages of the pregnancy, as if the physiological processes related to these two working conditions were different.