Pre-eclampsia Increases Risk of End Stage Kidney Disease

by Colleen Fleiss on July 31, 2019 at 8:53 AM

Pre-eclampsia during pregnancy puts women at a five-fold increased risk of end stage kidney disease (ESKD) later in life, stated research published this week in PLOS Medicine by Ali Khashan of University College Cork, Ireland, and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden and Liverpool University, UK.

As the prevalence of kidney disease has risen over recent years, it has become clear that more women have pre-dialysis kidney disease than men. Reproductive history, including the development of pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, has been hypothesized to play a role. In the new study, researchers analyzed data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register on 1,366,441 healthy women with 2,665,320 singleton live births in Sweden between 1982 and 2012.

Pre Eclampsia

In pre eclampsia a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure and proteinuria during pregnancy.

‘Whether screening or preventative strategies will reduce the risk of ESKD in women with adverse pregnancy outcomes is worthy of further investigation.’

Tweet it Now

The data revealed that women who had pre-eclampsia in at least one pregnancy were nearly five times more likely to have ESKD than women who had never had pre-eclampsia (hazard ratio 4.96; 95%CI 3.89-6.32). The incidence rate of ESKD per 100,000 person-years was 1.85 (95%CI 1.66-2.05) among women with no history of pre-eclampsia and 12.35 (95%CI 9.61-15.88) among women with a history of pre-eclampsia. Moreover, the association was independent of other factors including maternal age and education, and diagnoses of renal disease or cardiovascular disease before pregnancy.

The new paper "shows that pre-eclampsia is a sex-specific, independent risk factor for the subsequent development of ESKD," the authors say. "However, it should be noted that the overall ESKD risk remains small."

Source: Eurekalert

Quiz on Kidney

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist, and are located just below the rib cage, one on each side of your spine. Healthy kidneys filter about half a cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine. The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle called ureters, one on each side of your bladder. The

<< NHS Health Checks Cut Heart Disease Risk

Antenatal Screening for Kidney Problems in Early Childhood: ... >>

Prevention of Kidney Disease

Kidney damage is usually detected at advanced stages. Healthy lifestyle, keeping diabetes and blood pressure under check, and regular tests can help prevent it.