Preeclampsia and Its Associated Risk Factors: A Case-control Study in Qazvin Province

Background: Preeclampsia is one of the common disorders in pregnancy. It is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria in the second half of pregnancy. It is also one of the three main causes of death in pregnant women. Objective: This study investigated the risk factors of preeclampsia in women referred to Kowsar Hospital in Qazvin Province, Iran. Methods: In this case-control study, after reviewing 7855 cases of pregnant women referred to Kowsar Hospital in 2016, 171 hospitalized patients with severe preeclampsia were put in the case group, and 171 patients with delivery problems were in the control group. Then, we compared the collected data about risk factors, such as a history of preeclampsia, hypertension, smoking, diabetes mellitus, infertility, twin, and body mass index, in both groups. Results: The Mean±SD age of the pregnant women with preeclampsia was 31.19±6.42 years with an interquartile interval of 26-35 years. History of preeclampsia (P=0.02), hypertension (P=0.001), and body mass index (P=0.001) were significantly higher in the preeclampsia group than in the control group. Also, there was no significant relationship between a history of diabetes mellitus, infertility, or twin with preeclampsia (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that the risk factors of a history of preeclampsia, hypertension, and body mass index significantly differed between the case and control groups.