Dietary Risk Factors of Preeclampsia among Women Attending Antenatal and Delivery Services in Governmental Hospitals of West Gojjam Zone, North West Ethiopia - Abstract
Introduction: Preeclampsia is a major cause of fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide and affects 2–8% of all pregnancies. Dietary factors can be decisive in the progress of mechanisms for the development of preeclampsia. The issue has become controversial in light of recent reports.
Objective: This study aimed to assess dietary risk factors of preeclampsia among pregnant mothers attending antenatal care and delivery services in governmental hospitals of West Gojjam Zone, North West Ethiopia; by 2021.
Methods: An institutionally unmatched case-control study was carried out among 262(88 cases and 174 controls) between September and October 2021. A systematic random sampling technique was used, and data were entered into Epidata version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 23 software for analysis. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.2 in bivariate logistic regression were entered into a multivariate logistic regression and a statistically significant association was declared at a 95% confidence interval p-value less than 0.05 in a multivariate logistic regression model.
Result: High consumption of fat related foods [AOR:3.7, 95%CI:(1.67,8.23)], anemia (AOR:3.3,95%CI: [1.62,6.78)], and didn’t receiving nutritional counseling [ AOR:2.18,95% (1.11,4.23)] were found to be risk factor for development of preeclampsia. On the other hand, frequent consumption of milk products (AOR:0.39, 95% CI 0.15,0.95), and fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A [AOR: 0.12, 95% CI: (0.04,0.35)] were found to be preventive factors for preeclampsia.
Conclusion and recommendations: Diets that are characterized by a high intake of vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables, milk products, and receiving nutritional counseling were significantly associated with a low risk of preeclampsia. On the other hand, high intake of fatty foods, anemia and obesity were associated with the development of preeclampsia. Therefore, encouraging and promoting healthy eating habits and dietary patterns during pregnancy, including vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables and milk products, can effectively prevent the incidence of preeclampsia.