Abstract
Pre-eclampsia is estimated to cause 70 000 maternal death globally every year, with the majority of deaths in low- and middle-income countries. In Ethiopia, pre-eclampsia causes 16% of direct maternal deaths. Despite the high burden of disease, pre-eclampsia remains poorly studied in low and middle-income countries. In this study, we aimed to identify risk factors for pre-eclampsia in pregnant women attending hospitals in the Omo district of Southern Ethiopia. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews. Logistic regression analysis was computed to examine the relationship between the independent variable and pre-eclampsia. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) excluding 1 in the multivariable analysis was considered to identify factors associated with pre-eclampsia at a p-value of <0.05. A total of 167 cases and 352 controls were included. Factors that were found to have a statistically significant association with pre-eclampsia were primary relatives who had a history of chronic hypertension (AOR 2.1, 95% CI: 1.06-4.21), family history of diabetes mellitus (AOR 2.35; 95% CI: 1.07-5.20), preterm gestation (AOR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.05-2.32), and pre-conception smoking exposure (AOR = 4.16, 95% CI: 1.1-15.4). The study identified that a family history of chronic illnesses and diabetes mellitus, preterm gestation, and smoking exposure before conception were the risk factors for pre-eclampsia. Presumably, addressing the identified risk factors may give further insight into where interventions and resources should be focused, as well as having an understanding of the burden of disease.