Evaluation of the Relationship Between Types of Occupational Risk Factors and Pregnancy Induced Hypertension Among Iranian Employed Pregnant Women

Gestational hypertension or pregnancy-induced hypertension is the emergence of hypertension in a pregnant women after 20 weeks of gestation. This study aimed to evaluate the job-related factors associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 560 pregnant women who referred to the Nursing Clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital in 2017; of all studied cases, 210 pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension were selected as cases and 350 women without pregnancy-induced hypertension were selected as controls. The data on demographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, and ergonomic dangers were collected by the researchers. Finally, the relationship between job variables and the probability of developing hypertension in pregnant women was measured. The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that the variables of body mass index, fertility, shift work, and service works had a significant relationship with pregnancy-induced hypertension. Women with service work were 2.32 times more likely to develop hypertension than women with other types of jobs (P=0.013). The people who had a shift work were 2.28 times more likely to develop pregnancy-induced hypertension than those who did not have shift work. Based on the results of this study, there was no relationship between ergonomic risks and pregnancy-induced hypertension. It seems that due to the higher frequency of pregnancy-induced hypertension in highly demanding jobs, it is necessary to pay more attention to the assessment of related risk factors, such as psychological variables.