FACTORS ASSOCIATED HYPERTENSION AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN DILI MUNICIPALITY TIMOR LESTE

Purpose: Hypertension in pregnancy is one main cause of maternal morbidity among pregnant women worldwide and is also a significant public health concern. This study aimed to find factors associated with hypertension among pregnant women in Dili municipality of Timor Leste. Design/Methodology/approach: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 438 pregnant women at the Five Community Health Centre in Dili municipality, Timor Leste between April and May 2018. Face to face interview was conducted. Descriptive analysis, bivariate analysis, and multivariate analysis logistic regression were performed by SPSS version 22.0 were used to analyze the data. Findings: The prevalence of hypertension among pregnant women was 23.5%. Salty food intake (p=0.027), noise disturbance during daytime (p=0.027), and the distance to the main road (pP=0.004) were associated with hypertension among pregnant women. In the multivariate analysis, increased a week of pregnancy (AOR = 1.031; 95% CI: 1.004, 1.058), ever been diagnosed with hypertension during pregnancy (AOR = 10.297; 95% CI: 3.133, 33.840), and quite noisy during daytime (AOR = 0.393; 95% CI: 0.183, 0.841) were increased risk of conducted developed significant associated with hypertension status among pregnant women. Conclusion: The prevalence rates were lower than pregnant women with non-hypertension within Dili municipality, Timor Leste. Having a salty food during pregnancy and noise disturbance may increase a risk of high blood pressure among pregnant women. The adequate health education program in preventive high blood pressure and promotion knowledge about related factors and counseling is extremely needed in order to reduce hypertension and the factors may influence hypertension in pregnancy.