Risk factors and potential protective factors of pregnancy-induced hypertension in China: A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted to the reported factors and assesses possible protective factors for pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) in China. The data of pregnant women who delivered between October 2016 and September 2017 were collected from a birth registry. The primary outcome was the occurrence of PIH. Secondary outcomes were delivery before 34 gestational weeks and other adverse obstetric outcomes of PIH. Among the 99535 women enrolled, 5731 women (5.8%) developed PIH. BMI had a positive correlation with the primary and two secondary outcomes (adjusted OR=2.05, 2.56, 1.87, respectively, for overweight; adjusted OR=4.44, 3.90, and 2.63, respectively, for obesity). Otherwise, calcium supplementation during pregnancy was a potential protective factor for those outcomes (adjusted OR=0.87, 0.14, and 0.44, respectively). These results provide a basis for PIH prevention strategy in the Chinese public health sector. Calcium supplementation and lowering the BMI might have the potential benefit on reducing the prevalence of PIH in selected women.