Adverse pregnancy outcomes related to chronic arterial hypertension

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate adverse perinatal outcomes related to previous systemic arterial hypertension (SAH). Methods: This is a case-control study conducted at Darcy Vargas Maternity Hospital, in Joinville, SC, Brazil, from August to December 2020. A sample composed of patients older than 18 years old who have recently given birth was interviewed. Patients were divided into two groups, patients with and without previous SAH. In the adjusted odds ratio calculation (OR), a 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was used. Results: Two groups were analyzed: one with previous SAH (n=110/6.5%) and one without previous SAH (n=1,560/93.4%). Regarding maternal characteristics, patients with SAH were older, more obese, had more previous regnancies, caesarean sections, abortions, prenatal appointments, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), and previous diabetes mellitus (DM). About the characteristics of the newborns of mothers with SAH, lower gestational age at birth, higher incidence of caesarean section, prematurity, low birth weight and neonatal intensive care unit (ICU) were observed. After calculating the adjusted odds ratio, it was found that pregnant women with SAH had higher chance of GDM (CR=2.157; 95%CI 1.373-3.390), PIH (CR=2.739; 95%CI 1.619- 4.663), and prematurity (CR=2.552; 95%CI 1.090-5.979). Conclusion: The presence of previous SAH increased the chance of GDM by 2.1 times, PIH by 2.7 times and prematurity by 2.5 times

Keywords

• hypertension
• pregnancy
• high-risk
• pregnancy-induced