ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the frequency of hypertension among Pregnant Women Attending GMC Hospital, Ajman, UAE and to assess the association between hypertension in pregnancy and selected variables
Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted including pregnant women, aged 18 years and above who were attending the GMC hospital, Ajman. Interviewer administered validated questionnaire was used that included in addition to sociodemography information, obstetric and medical history. Hypertension was confirmed by treating doctors. All subjects gave their written informed consent to be included in the study, and the GMU Ethics Committee approved the study. The SPSS 21 software was used for analysis. Chi-square was used to test the association
Results: The study included 900 pregnant women, 126 [14%] who were in the first; 228[25%] in the second and 546 [61%] in the third trimester of pregnancy. Hypertension was found in 28 participants [3.1%]. The frequency of Hypertension was significantly higher in women with family history of hypertension [14.1% vs 1.9%, P< 0.001], personal history of diabetes[ 10% vs 2.9%, P=0.027], history of hypertension in previous pregnancy [33.3% vs 2.5%, P< 0.001]
Conclusion: The frequency of hypertension in pregnancy is 3.1%. History of diabetes, previous obstetric history of Hypertension, and family history of hypertension are significantly associated with hypertension in pregnancy