Prevalence of Preeclampsia and Associated Biomarkers in Pregnant Women in Auchi

Background: Preeclampsia is a multi-organ system disorder of pregnancy which is responsible for a significant rate of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Studies on the prevalence of preeclampsia in the developing countries appear inadequate. Aim and Objective: This study was designed to assess the prevalence of preeclampsia and its associated risk factors in pregnant women in Auchi and environs. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total number of 200 participants were enrolled. Anthropometric parameters and blood pressure were measured by standard procedures. 5 ml of blood was obtained from each participant. Serum obtained from the centrifugation of the blood was used for the determination of creatinine, uric acid, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and lipid profile. Analysis of data was done using analysis of variance and Pearson correlation coefficient. Statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results: The prevalence of preeclampsia in this study was 4%. Body mass index, waist circumference, serum creatinine, uric acid, and total cholesterol (TC) were significantly elevated in pregnant women with preeclampsia in comparison with women without preeclampsia. Conclusion: Observations in this study indicate that elevated serum creatinine, uric acid, and TC are risk factors of preeclampsia.