Eclampsia in India Through the Decades

Eclampsia is still prevalent in India with high maternal and perinatal mortality. In India, there is no community-based survey of eclampsia. Sporadic reports of study on eclampsia are being published in medical journals.

The objective of this study was to find out the incidence of eclampsia and maternal and perinatal mortality in India.

Data on incidence, maternal mortality and perinatal mortality of eclampsia were collected from articles published in journals and from book of Abstract published during AICOG conferences from 1980 onwards, along with our own data from 1976 to 2014. Data were analyzed yearwise.

Reports published from 1976 to 2015 (January-February) reveal that incidence of eclampsia in India ranges from 0.179 to 5 %, the average being 1.5 %. In the period between 1980 and 1989, the average incidence was 0.92 % and the corresponding figure between 2002 and 2010 was 2.15 %, indicating that there is no reduction in incidence of eclampsia in India over the decades. Maternal mortality in 1982 was 14.12 %, and in 2010 it was 2.2-9 %. Maternal mortality has shown a receding tendency, while perinatal mortality is remaining still high as in 1984 it was 45 % and the corresponding figure in 2010 was 24.5-48 %.

Incidence of eclampsia in India is about 1.5 %. Detail analysis of data from 1980 to 2015 (January-February) shows that there is no reduction in incidence of eclampsia and perinatal mortality rate over the last few decades. Maternal mortality has shown a slight receding trend.