Incidence of preeclampsia and retention to prenatal care in Northern Uganda.

Date
2022-08-23
Authors
Awor, Silvia
Byanyima, Rosemary
Abola, Benard
Nakimuli, Annettee
Orach Garimoi, Christopher
Kiondo, Paul
Ogwal-Okeng, Jasper
Kaye Kabonge, Dan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
East African Medical Journal
Abstract
Background: Known risk factors for preeclampsia include women of African descent and low socioeconomic status. This means all the mothers in Northern Uganda are at risk. In Uganda preeclampsia causes 12 – 19% of maternal deaths. However, data on its burden is limited. Objective: To determine prenatal care retention and preeclampsia incidence in northern Uganda. Setting: St. Mary’s hospital Lacor, northern Uganda. Design: Prospective cohort study. Participants: Recruited 1,285 mothers at 16-24 weeks of gestation. Their history, physical findings, blood tests, and uterine artery Doppler indices were taken at baseline, and the women were followed up until delivery. Outcome: A combination of hypertension with proteinuria was taken as preeclampsia. Statistical analysis: Means, medians, and proportions were used to describe the population. The incidence per 104 women weeks of follow-up computed for different gestation ages. Results: Seventy-eight percent of the women delivered at the health facility. Women who were not retained through to delivery were younger (p<0.0001), had low BMI (p=0.0001) and more likely to be unemployed (p<0.0001). Overall, 43 women developed preeclampsia giving a prevalence of 4.3% (95% CI 3.1% 5.7%), and an incidence of 11 per 104 women weeks. The incidence of preeclampsia was 68 per 104 women weeks’ for women delivered at < 34 completed weeks of pregnancy, and 6.0 per 104 June 2022 women weeks for those delivered at > 37 weeks. Conclusion: Retention to prenatal care is 78% while the incidence of preeclampsia is 4.3% in Northern Uganda. This incidence is higher at lower gestation ages.
Description
Keywords
Incidence, Prenatal care, preeclampsia, Uganda, Africa
Citation
Awor S, Byanyima R, Abola B, Nakimuli A, Orach CG, Kiondo P, Ogwal-Okeng J, Kaye D: Incidence of preeclampsia and retention to prenatal care in Northern Uganda. East African Medical Journal 2022, 99(6):4885 - 4896.