Assessment on the Exposure of Air, Water and Noise Pollution, and Mental Stress on Preeclamptic Patients of Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Abstract

Although preeclampsia claims the lives of 70,000 mothers and 500,000 newborns each year worldwide, its origin is still elusive and a number of risk factors such as environmental pollution are not yet addressed properly. In this study, exposures due to the extents of air, water and noise pollution as well as mental stress on preeclamptic patients have been investigated. Using a cross-sectional longitudinal design, 90 women hospitalized with preeclampsia in 7 hospitals of Rajshahi, Bangladesh were considered, of which Rajshahi Medical College Hospital is a tertiary referral hospital. The data were collected by interviewing the patients, physical examinations and merging the patients’ data with British Geological Survey’s groundwater data-sets (n=3,540). For statistical analyses, SPSS software was employed. It was found that most of the patients’ living rooms were within 15 feet from kitchen. Only 10% patients had good room ventilation, while the remaining 90% patients had either moderate or poor room ventilation. Combination of these facts reveals that the preeclamptic patients were subject to moderate CO2 exposure. Since 79% of the preeclamptic patients’ living rooms were below 50 ft from the nearest roads and 84% for 100 ft distance, they would experience noise pollution. Combination of traffic conditions and potential sources of noise pollution revealed that 60% of the preeclamptic patients experienced moderate to intense noise pollution. Groundwater arsenic, calcium, magnesium, iron and sodium concentrations in the patients’ drinking water were higher than WHO guideline values that should favour constipation and mild hypertension. While 70% patients were under high mental stress and 24% under very high mental stress, only 6% patients had moderate mental stress. It is concluded that air, water and noise pollution, and mental stress are potential risk factors of preeclampsia.