Clinical and Obstetric Factors Associated with Preeclampsia in Pregnant Women in Rural Ceará

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.01596626110510

• Palavras-chave: Preeclampsia; Pregnancy; Risk factors; Gestational hypertension; Maternal health.

• Keywords: Preeclampsia; Pregnancy; Risk factors; Gestational hypertension; Maternal health.

• Abstract:

  Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the main hypertensive syndromes of pregnancy, associated with high rates of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The present study aimed to analyze the main risk factors related to the development of PE in pregnant women in the interior of Ceará. This is an observational, analytical, retrospective study with a quantitative approach, based on the analysis of medical records of 95 pregnant women treated at Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Sobral between April 2025 and January 2026, with 57 in the control group and 38 diagnosed with PE. Sociodemographic, obstetric, hemodynamic, and laboratory variables were evaluated. Data were analyzed using Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Pearson’s chi-square test, Spearman’s correlation, and ROC curve, with a significance level of 5% (p<0.05). Patients with PE had a significantly higher body mass index than the control group (p=0.0005), as well as a higher frequency of alcohol abuse (p=0.0471). A significant positive correlation was also observed between systolic blood pressure and proteinuria (r=0.3570; p=0.0203), as well as between diastolic blood pressure and proteinuria (r=0.4645; p=0.0019). Analysis of the ROC curves demonstrated high discriminatory power of blood pressure levels for identifying the disease, with slightly superior performance of systolic blood pressure. The findings reinforce the multifactorial nature of PE and highlight the importance of early identification of metabolic, behavioral, and hemodynamic risk factors during prenatal care, contributing to better clinical stratification and prevention of maternal and fetal complications.