Association of Hypertension and Dietary Variables in Pregnant Women Attending Khamis Mushyat Hospital, Ksa

Hypertension affects 10% of all pregnancies and is accompanied by an increase in fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Hypertension in pregnancy includes a wide spectrum of conditions, including pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, pre-eclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension, and gestational hypertension. The objectives of the study were to study the factors associated with hypertension in pregnant women and create awareness about the disease. A cross sectional study was conducted on 200 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic of Khamis Mushayat hospital aged 16-45 years. Interview questionnaire containing details such as number of pregnancies, age of current pregnancy, BMI, weight of the mother, blood sugar levels, abortions, blood pressure of the mother, diseases if any other than hypertension such as diabetes mellitus, renal diseases, etc. The association between variables was studied on SPSS 22 platform using Chisquare. Also an awareness program was conducted. A significant relationship existed between blood pressure of the mother and intake of rice, wheat, oats, corn, legumes, peas, chicken, fish, meat, milk, laben, apples, mango, pears, orange, grapes, aubergine, lettuce, carrot, cabbage, potatoes, zucchini, cucumber, sausages, butter and margarine and chocolates, biscuits, cakes etc.A highly significant relationship was observed between weight of the mother, blood pressure of the mother and dietary intake. Also significant relationship existed between some of the background variables such as blood pressure of the mother and dietary recommendations given and fasting blood sugar levels. This study throws light on the importance of diet in maintaining body weight and blood pressure and sugar levels. Hence it can be concluded that blood pressure of the mother had a significant relationship between dietary intake, dietary recommendations given and fasting blood sugar levels. It is the need of the hour to counsel pregnant subjects on the ill effects of gestational hypertension and diabetes mellitus and control the same by addressing body weight, dietary issues and physical exercise