A Case-Control Study on Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension and Associated Factors Among Antenatal Women Attending a Tertiary Care Centre in Chennai

Background: Particularly in low- and middle-income countries like India, pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is a major cause of mother and fetal morbidity and death. In South India, the prevalence of PIH ranges from 7% to 10%, depending on a number of lifestyle and sociodemographic variables. The goal of the current study is to investigate the connection between prenatal risk factors and PIH in women who visit Chennai's tertiary care institutions.  Methods: From November 2024 to January 2025, two tertiary care facilities in Chennai participated in a case-control research. There were 80 individuals in all, 40 of whom were PIH patients and 40 of whom were controls. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather data, and SPSS software was used for statistical analysis. To determine the risk variables for PIH, binary logistic regression models, both unadjusted and adjusted, were employed.  Results: Reduced interpregnancy intervals (AOR = 0.211, p = 0.03), a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (AOR = 7.595, p = 0.17), an increased gestational age (AOR = 4.243, p = 0.035), daily consumption of salt exceeding 6g (AOR = 8.188, p = 0.02), and consumption of more than 2 cups of coffee per day (AOR = 38.924, p = 0.04) were all strongly correlated with PIH. Socioeconomic level and PIH did not significantly correlate (p > 0.05).  Discussion: The findings emphasize the role of coffee drinking, salt intake, gestational diabetes history, and interpregnancy gap in the development of PIH. These findings support the necessity of food and lifestyle modification counselling during prenatal care for women with a history of gestational diabetes or shorter interpregnancy intervals, notwithstanding several limitations, including recollection bias and selection bias.  Conclusion: Short interpregnancy intervals, a history of gestational diabetes, excessive salt intake, and heavy coffee consumption are among the important modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for PIH identified in this study. Although socioeconomic status was not found to be a role, further research is necessary to determine the wider socioeconomic and cultural determinants, particularly in contexts with limited resources, so that targeted treatments may be developed to prevent PIH.