Risk of preclampsia affected by body mass index

AORN Journal,  July, 2004  

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Researchers at the Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, an affiliate of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Pittsburgh, have discovered that in a study of 1,179 pregnant women, the risk of preeclampsia rose with relatively small increases in prepregnancy body fat, according to an April 20, 2004, news release from UPMC. Risk increased, surprisingly, even among women who normally would not be classified as overweight when compared to women with less body fat.

Researchers compared preeclampsia development to body mass index (BMI) as a continuum rather than by conventional classification units and tried to determine how body fat increases the risk for preeclampsia. Participants enrolled in the study before or at the 16th week of pregnancy. At the time of delivery, 6% of participants had developed preeclampsia. After adjusting for age, smoking status, race, marital status, and education, researchers discovered that higher BMI was linked to preeclampsia development.

In the study, the incidence of preeclampsia rose sharply as BMI rose. Those women with a prepregnancy BMI considered overweight were twice as likely to develop preeclampsia, and those with a prepregnancy BMI considered obese were three times as likely to develop preedampsia as women with a BMI considered normal Interestingly, women with a prepregnancy BMI considered to be underweight were half as likely to develop preeclampsia compared to those with a BMI considered to be normal

According to the researchers, these results indicate that fat tissue plays a role in the development of preeclampsia. Data analysis showed that half of the increased risk of preeclampsia development was due to a heightened inflammatory response associated with high BMI and elevated blood lipid values related to being overweight.

Approximately 7% of pregnant women in the United States develop preeclampsia, which is characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine. The condition causes reduced blood flow to the organs of both the mother and the fetus and may be lethal. Women who experience preeclampsia have increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. Losing weight before pregnancy can reduce the risk of preedampsia, but women should not try to lose weight during pregnancy.

Risk of Preeclampsia Rises Sharply With Increased Prepregnancy Body Mass Index (news release, Washington, DE: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, April 20, 2004).

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