BLOOD PRESSURE–PROTEINURIA RELATIONSHIP IN PREECLAMPSIA: EVIDENCE FROM LAHORE, SAHIWAL AND OKARA

Abstract

Preeclampsia continues to be a major cause of maternal and newborn complication especially in the low and middle-income countries like Pakistan. High blood pressure and proteinuria are the most suitable diagnostic indicators but their relationship is stronger in some populations than in others. The primary objectives was to establish the correlation between systolic blood pressure and proteinuria in pregnant women of Lahore, Okara, and Sahiwal. The study also compared of clinical profiles of preeclamptic and normotensive women and a quantification of degree to which the blood pressure is able to predict the proteinuria by use of SPSS-style analysis. Clinical observational prospective study was done on 550 pregnant women who went to the antenatal clinics in the three districts. All the participants were subjected to standardized blood pressure measurements and urine protein assessments. According to the diagnostic criteria, 102 women (18.5%), were diagnosed with preeclamptic with the rest of the participants being the normotensive group. The analysis of data was done based on the descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression. Mean values were reported using standard deviations and the level of significance was used at p < 0.05. It was found that there were clear differences between the groups. The average systolic blood pressure of the preeclamptic women was 162.7/ 14.3 mmHg, which was high as compared to that of the normotensive individuals, 118.8/ 11.9 mmHg (p < 0. 001). The level of proteinuria also varied significantly the preeclamptic group showed 1.35±0.47 which was the mean value, whereas in normotensive women the average level was 0.48± 0.43 (p < 0.001). It showed a positive correlation of systolic blood pressure with proteinuria (r = 0.73) which meant that proteinuria rose in a straight line with an increase in systolic pressure. The linear regression analysis produced a regression coefficient of 0.019, intercept of -1.799 and a R² of 0.54, which indicates that the systolic blood pressure accounted more than half of the variation in the proteinuria.The results suggest that a high percentage of pregnant women in the researched districts have irregularly high blood pressure and related proteinuria, which highlights how clear preeclampsia is as a health issue on the population. The high correlation and predictability between the two points to the need to have frequent antenatal monitoring of blood pressure and urine protein as a routine medical procedure to the mother. Better awareness, prompt diagnosis and correct management measures are important in ensuring maternal and fetal risks are mitigated in this population.