Potential Confounders and a Modified Framingham Risk Score for the Prediction of Pregnancy-related Medical Conditions Occurrence among Pregnant Women: A Retrospective Study from Baghdad, Iraq.

BACKGROUND

The incidence of pregnancy-related medical conditions relied on a set of potential factors that could be available even before the term of pregnancy and may be associated with poor outcomes later in life. This study aimed to investigate the association between some potential predictive factors related to maternal, gestational, and clinical parameters and the incidence of pregnancy-related medical conditions in a sample of Iraqi pregnant women.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective, observational, single-center study was carried out on 92 pregnant women during their routine visit to the obstetric clinic in a certain distinct of Baghdad province, Iraq. Demographic, gestational, and clinical records of the participants were collected and analyzed to detect the predictive factors for pregnancy-related medical conditions.

RESULTS

56.5% of the participants were at a gestational age of 25-37 weeks. 32.6% complained of pregnancy-related medical conditions, mainly gestational hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Pregnant women with pregnancy-related medical conditions were significantly correlated with a family history ( < 0.0001), previous gestational medical conditions ( < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure ( = 0.0011), different lipid panels ( = 0.0001), and maternal blood phenotype O ( = 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Some predictive factors related to maternal, gestational, and health characteristics are correlated with the incidence of pregnancy-related medical conditions. Interventions to adjust and recognize these confounders are essentials even before pregnancy which could improve maternal health and reduce the overall risk of pregnancy-related medical conditions.