J. Wacker et al., SEASONAL CHANGE IN THE INCIDENCE OF PREECLAMPSIA IN ZIMBABWE, Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 77(7), 1998, pp. 712-716
Background The aim of our study was to evaluate the number of women wi
th hypertensive complications during pregnancy in a southern province
in Zimbabwe and to examine the annual change in the incidence of preec
lampsia. Methods. In three different hospitals the preeclamptic women
who were treated between January 1992 and August 1995 were counted. Th
is data was compared with the amount of rainfall obtained from the loc
al meteorological stations. Results. A distinctive change in the incid
ence of preeclampsia during the year could be observed. These changes
go along with the seasonal variation in precipitation: at the end of t
he dry season and in the first months of the rainy season there is an
increase in the incidence. Conclusions. The relationship between clima
te and occurrence of preeclampsia raises new questions in the pathophy
siology of preeclampsia. Possible explanations could be the impact of
humidity and temperature on vessels or the production of vasoactive su
bstances. Dry and rainy seasons influence the agricultural yields and
therefore the nutritional status could also play a role in the pathoph
ysiology.