The significance of under- or overweight during childhood as a risk factor for hypertensive diseases in pregnancy

Hypertensive diseases in pregnancy are still a major cause of foetal and maternal mortality. Known risk factors allow identification of only a small number of patients at risk of developing such a complication. However, better knowledge of the risk profile would improve an early adequate monitoring of these pregnancies. We therefore investigated the correlation between under- or overweight during childhood and the development of hypertensive diseases during pregnancy. The study was designed as a cross-sectional case control study. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 2600 women, who had contacted the German pre-eclampsia self-help group for information on hypertensive diseases in pregnancy and 1233 control women recruited in different hospitals. Diagnosis according to criteria of the international society for hypertensive diseases in pregnancy was based on medical records. 766 women with a hypertensive disease during their pregnancy and 951 control women with normal pregnancies were evaluated after verifying for exclusion criteria and complete data sets. Student t-test, chi square test and multivariate logistic regression models were used for statistical analysis. A history of under- (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.23–3.61) or overweight (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.01–2.12) during childhood is associated with an increased risk for hypertensive diseases in pregnancy, which is at least partly independent of pre-pregnancy BMI. In combination with other risk factors, a history of under- or overweight during childhood will help to identify patients at risk for hypertensive diseases in pregnancy.