International Journal of Modern and Alternative Medicine Research
ISSN: 2053-1834
Vol. 7(2), pp. 8-16, September 2020
doi.org/10.33500/ijmamr.2020.7.003

Effect of calcium on preeclampsia among pregnant women in Osogbo, South Western Nigeria

Fasanu A. O.¹, Kolawole O. O.¹, Isawumi A. I.¹*, Bello N. O.² and Atiba A. S.³

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Nigeria.
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.
³Department of Chemical Pathology, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: isawumi2012@gmail.com.

Received 14 March, 2020; Received in revised form 17 July, 2020; Accepted 20 July, 2020.

Keywords:
Gestational hypertension, Calcium, Preeclampsia, Foetomaternal outcome.

Preeclampsia is a public health problem with devastating foetomaternal consequences. It has been tagged a disease of theories with numerous postulations suggested to unravel its aetiopathogenesis. The need to continuously review the disorder, its pathogenesis, factors responsible for the severity of its presentation and means of preventing its occurrence will revolutionize the modern-day obstetric practice. A case-controlled study was conducted on 104 pregnant patients that attended antenatal clinic at three major hospitals in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 22. Statistical significance was set at p-value less than 0.05 for all values of test statistic. The mean age of the participants was 29.84±5.60 but 44.2% of them fell within the age bracket of 30-39 years. The mean age of women with preeclampsia was higher than normotensive patients (30.71±5.69 versus 28.96±5.54 years). The mean plasma calcium level was significantly low in the preeclamptic group with mean calcium value of 1.65±0.37 mmol/L. There was a significant statistical relationship of mean plasma calcium level between the study and control groups (p<0.001). The mean plasma calcium level was inversely proportional to increasing age, though not statistically significant (p=0.445). There was decreasing mean plasma calcium with severe hypertension and proteinuria but there is no significant statistical relationship between the mean plasma calcium level and the degree of hypertension and proteinuria. This study has shown that plasma calcium level was significantly lower in the preeclamptic group compared to the normotensive (control) group and calcium supplementation to all pregnant women may be of benefit.

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