Risk factors and pregnancy outcomes of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a case-control study

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) is a group of diseases that coexist with pregnancy and hypertension and it will affect the health of mothers and babies. The primary objective of this study was to identify the relevant factors for HDP and to briefly assess its impact on pregnancy outcomes.

660 pregnant women who gave birth in a hospital of Northeast China were included as the study subjects. The basic information of the pregnant woman was provided via the medical record system. Statistical analyses including logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was used.

The prevalence of overweight/obesity, high gestational weight gain (GWG) and diabetes was higher in HDP group (P < 0.05), whereas multiparity and uterine fibroids was lower (P < 0.05). Multifactorial analysis shown that overweight/obesity and high GWG might increase risk of HDP while multiparity and having uterine fibroids might reduce risk of HDP in pregnant women (P < 0.001). The ROC curve indicated that pre-pregnancy BMI demonstrated the highest predictive value for the occurrence of HDP. A comparison of pregnancy outcomes revealed that the caesarean section was higher in HDP group than in CON group (P < 0.001).

The findings of this study reaffirmed overweight/obesity and high GWG as risk factors for HDP, while multiparity and uterine fibroids might be protective. HDP was strongly associated with increased caesarean section rates.