Preeclampsia Can Increase Women's Risk Of Kidney Failure Later In Life, Study Finds

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Hypertension;  Urology / Nephrology
Article Date: 25 Aug 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Preeclampsia, a condition that causes high blood pressure and other problems in about 5% of pregnancies, can significantly increase risk of developing kidney failure later in life, according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

For the study, Bjorn Vikse of the University of Berlin examined two databases to determine the relationship between preeclampsia in pregnancies and the subsequent development of end-stage renal disease, or ESRD. Among all women who had given birth, the annual risk for ESRD was one case per 27,000 women, and the condition appeared an average of 18 years later, according to the study. Risk for ESRD increased by 4.7 times among women who developed preeclampsia during their first pregnancy, by 6.4 times among women who developed the condition during each of their two pregnancies and by 15.5 times among women who developed the condition during two of at least three pregnancies, the study found.

The researchers wrote that the "absolute risk of ESRD in women who have had preeclampsia is low, [and] preeclampsia is a marker for an increased risk of subsequent ESRD," adding, "The association was stronger if the preeclamptic pregnancy resulted in a low birthweight or preterm infant." In addition, researchers wrote that whether preeclampsia helped caused ESRD, or whether an underlying factor caused both conditions, remains undetermined (Emery, Reuters/Boston Globe, 8/21).

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