ALTITUDE AND SOCIOBIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF PREGNANCY-ASSOCIATED HYPERTENSION

OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of gestation-associated hypertensi on and to determine the effect of altitude and related sociobiological factors. METHODS: A stratified random sample of 3988 pregnant women l iving at high altitude and 2744 at sea level in the Asir region, Saudi Arabia was interviewed for sociobiological conditions and examined fo r blood pressure, proteinuria and body mass. RESULTS: An overall preva lence of 2.4% was found. Certain groups of pregnant women are at high risk of developing hypertension. They include women who are over 40 ye ars, high multipara, having short inter-pregnancy spacing, are overwei ght, are illiterate and those living at high altitude. Multivariate an alysis showed that high altitude is a strong risk factor (adjusted odd s ratio (OR), 1.879; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.123-2.819) and ca nnot be masked when other variables are controlled. CONCLUSIONS. Speci al health education and more frequent screening programs at primary he alth care level should be given to pregnant women living at high altit ude.