Publications

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2023 Faculty of Clinical Medicine and Dentistry NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Hypertension in Pregnancy among Pregnant Women attending Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda

Aden A. Abdille

Hypertension in pregnancy is a significant public health issue affecting a large number of pregnant womenworldwide. In Uganda, the prevalence of hypertension in pregnancy is not well understood, and little is known aboutthe factors associated with hypertension in pregnancy among pregnant women attending regional referral hospitals.To determine the prevalence of hypertension in pregnancy and to identify the socio-demographic and obstetricfactors associated with hypertension in pregnancy among pregnant women attending Fort Portal Regional ReferralHospital in Uganda. A hospital based retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 100pregnant women who attended Fort Portal regional referral hospital between April 2022 to July 2022. Systematicrandom sampling was employed. Data on demographic and obstetrical history, and blood pressure measurementswas collected using a pretested questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factorsassociated with hypertension in pregnancy using SPSS Version 25. Prevalence of hypertension in pregnancy in thisstudy was found to be 7.0%. Maternal age between 21-29 years was statistically significant and pregnant womenbetween these years were less likely to develop hypertension in pregnancy. On the other hand, family history ofhypertension was statistically significant and pregnant women who had it positive were more likely to develophypertension in pregnancy. The prevalence of hypertension in pregnancy was low. Statistically significantassociation was found between hypertension in pregnancy and family history of hypertension and age. Hence, this study recommends that early detection and management of pregnant mothers with hypertension in pregnancy be mandatory as part of antenatal care so as to improve maternal and fetal outcomes