Assessment of correlation between unprotected coitus and preeclampsia

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is a common complication of pregnancy often leading to significant maternal and fetal complications Preeclampsia occurs more frequently in primigravidae and in multigravidae who have a change in paternity. Length of sperm exposure has been proposed to influence the risk of preeclampsia. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between unprotected coitus and preeclampsia. 
 METHODS: A case-control design was used to compare 91 women with preeclampsia (cases) with 91 matched ones in control group. The age range was from 20 to 35 years. Subjects were selected from mothers referred to Mahdieh and Akbar-Abadi hospitals. Data were gathered by interview method and were analyzed by independent t-test, Mann-Whitney, chi-square, and logistic regression using SPSS software. 
 RESULTS: Women with a short period of co-habitation (<4 months) or the ones who used barrier methods for contraception had a substantially higher risk for development of preeclampsia compared with women with more than 4 months of cohabitation before conception (P = 0.0001). Oral contraceptive users had a lower preeclampsia rate than women who used no oral contraceptive (P = 0.003). No relationship was observed between coital rate before and during pregnancy and the risk of preeclampsia.
 CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the risk of developing preeclampsia in primigravidae is inversely proportional to the duration of sexual co-habitation. 
 KEY WORDS: Preeclampsia, unprotected coitus, sperm exposure, barrier contraceptive