Impact of physical activity on preeclampsia and angiogenic markers in the Finnish Genetics of Pre-eclampsia Consortium (FINNPEC) cohort

Figures & data

Table 1. Physical activity of the FINNPEC women.

	PE (n = 708)		Non-PE (n = 724)
	N	%	N	%	p Value
Physical fitness status, own estimate	695		715		0.001
Good	298	42.9	373	52.2
Average	286	41.2	263	36.8
Poor	111	16.0	79	11.0
Time spent physically active^a daily when traveling to workplace	571		560		0.169
<15 min	272	47.6	236	42.1
15–30 min	146	25.6	154	27.5
>30 min	153	26.8	170	30.4
How physically strenuous is your job?	569		544		0.463
Light (mostly sitting)	276	48.5	264	48.5
Somewhat light	122	21.4	131	24.1
Somewhat strenuous or strenuous	171	30.1	149	27.4
How often do you exercise?	685		709		0.866
1–2 times/month or less	135	19.7	137	19.3
1 time/week	136	19.9	152	21.4
2–3 times/week	264	38.5	274	38.6
4–5 times/week or more	150	21.9	146	20.6
How strenuous is your exercise?	672		699		0.452
Similar to walking	255	37.9	236	33.8
Similar to walking and jogging in turns	247	36.8	274	39.2
Similar to jogging	136	20.2	150	21.5
Similar to running	34	5.1	39	5.6
The length of an exercise session	681		701		0.566
<30 min	50	7.3	46	6.6
30–60 min	330	48.5	359	51.2
>60 min	301	44.2	296	42.2
Time spent otherwise physically active daily^b	691		718		0.036
<30 min	181	26.2	195	27.2
30–60 min	304	44.0	278	38.7
1–2 h	164	23.7	175	24.4
≥2 h	42	6.1	70	9.7
Physically active vs inactive
How often do you exercise?	685		709		0.648
2–3 times/week or more	414	60.4	420	59.2
Less than 2–3 times/week	271	39.6	289	40.8
Do you exercise ≥2–3 times/week, ≥30 min at a time with at least moderate intensity^c?	647		684		0.703
Yes	281	43.4	290	42.4
No	366	56.6	394	57.6

^aWalking, running, cycling or cross-country skiing. ^bIncluding household work, yard work and gardening. ^cSimilar to walking and jogging in turns. Bold text shows p values < 0.05. () Number of available information sources if not from all.

Table 2. Maternal and perinatal characteristics according to physical activity category in the FINNPEC.

	PE			Non-PE
	Physically active (n = 414)	Physically inactive (n = 271)	p	Physically active (n = 420)	Physically inactive (n = 289)	p
Age at delivery (years)	30.2 ± 5.3 (n = 413)	29.4 ± 5.9	0.053	29.5 ± 4.8 (n = 419)	30.3 ± 5.3 (n = 287)	0.032
Nulliparous, n (%)	333 (80.6%) (n = 413)	186 (68.6%)	<0.001	270 (64.4%) (n = 419)	126 (43.9%) (n = 287)	<0.001
BMI, kg/m^2 (self-reported, pre-pregnancy)	23.4 (16.2 − 45.9)^a (n = 413)	24.8 (17.0 − 47.3)^a	<0.001	22.8 (17.1 − 42.9)^a (n = 419)	23.8 (17.0 − 47.4)^a (n = 287)	0.002
Smoking before pregnancy	104 (25.4%) (n = 409)	101 (37.3%)	0.001	105 (25.5%) (n = 412)	101 (35.4%) (n = 285)	0.005
Smoking during pregnancy	27 (6.5%) (n = 413)	36 (13.3%)	0.003	35 (8.3%)	48 (16.7%) (n = 287)	0.001
Highest systolic blood pressure (mmHg)	165 (118 − 235) (n = 413)	163 (129 − 239)	0.066	128 (100 − 200) (n = 419)	127 (100 − 214) (n = 287)	0.419
Highest diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	109 (88 − 173) (n = 413)	108 (91 − 130)	0.177	84 (62 − 134) (n = 419)	84 (65 − 123) (n = 287)	0.971
Highest systolic blood pressure at first antenatal visit (mmHg)	124 (90 − 170) (n = 405)	124 (94 − 194) (n = 262)	0.985	119 (87 − 190) (n = 404)	118 (90 − 160) (n = 282)	0.308
Highest diastolic blood pressure at first antenatal visit (mmHg)	78 (52 − 109) (n = 405)	78 (52 − 116) (n = 262)	0.889	73 (50 − 124) (n = 404)	73 (50 − 106) (n = 282)	0.827
Early onset PE^b	91 (22.0%)	62 (22.9%)	0.783	–	–	–
Chronic hypertension^c	77 (18.6%) (n = 413)	42 (15.5%)	0.288	21 (5.0%) (n = 419)	22 (7.7%) (n = 287)	0.148
Gestational hypertension^d	–	–	–	46 (11.0%) (n = 419)	20 (7.0%) (n = 287)	0.072
Pre-gestational diabetes	8 (1.9%) (n = 413)	12 (4.4%)	0.059	4 (1.0%) (n = 419)	2 (0.7%) (n = 287)	0.714
Type 1 diabetes	7 (1.7%)	10 (3.7%)		1 (0.2%)	3 (1.0%)
Type 2 diabetes	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.7%)		1 (0.2%)	1 (0.3%)
Gestational diabetes	61 (14.8%) (n = 413)	54 (19.9%)	0.078	31 (7.4%) (n = 419)	35 (12.2%) (n = 287)	0.032
Mode of delivery	(n = 413)		0.339		(n = 288)	0.242
Vaginal	244 (59.1%)	170 (62.7)		362 (86.2%)	239 (83.0%)
Cesarean section	169 (40.9%)	101 (37.3)		58 (13.8%)	49 (17.0%)
Gestational weeks at delivery	37 (24 − 42) (n = 413)	38 (24 − 41)	0.474	40 (26 − 42)	40 (23 − 43) (n = 288)	0.825
Birth weight, g	2880 (310 − 4660)^a (n = 413)	2960 (700 − 4840)^a	0.235	3570 (460 − 5010)^a	3548 (330 − 5350)^a (n = 288)	0.763
Relative birth weight (SD)	−0.97 ± 1.22 (n = 413)	−0.81 ± 1.22	0.910	−0.15 ± 1.1	−0.09 ± 1.1 (n = 287)	0.693
SGA	81 (19.6%) (n = 413)	46 (17.0%)	0.385	22 (5.3%) (n = 419)	14 (4.9%) (n = 287)	0.825
Placental insufficiency	37 (9.0%) (n = 413)	26 (9.6%)	0.779	13 (3.1%) (n = 419)	10 (3.5%) (n = 287)	0.779
Preterm delivery (< 37 gwks)	127 (30.8%) (n = 413)	79 (29.8%)	0.656	20 (4.8%)	14 (4.8%)	0.960

Data are presented as mean ± SD or percentages. ^aMedian (range). ^bPE was identified as early onset if diagnosed before 34⁺⁰ gwks. ^cSystolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg detected before 20 weeks of gestation. ^dBlood pressure ≥ 140/90, no proteinuria. Bold text shows p values < 0.05. () Number of available information sources if not from all.

Table 3. Concentrations of angiogenic markers in PE and non-PE women according to physical activity category, mean estimate/model-based mean (95% CI).

	PE		Non-PE		p Value
	Physically active^a	Physically inactive^b	Physically active^a	Physically inactive^b	Active vs inactive	Active vs inactive^c	Group * exercise interaction	Group * exercise interaction^c
s-Flt1 (pg/ml)
I trimester	1311.6 (1208.3 − 1422.3) (n = 104)	1280.49 (1146 − 1430.8) (n = 56)	1418 (1301.1 − 1546.9) (n = 94)	1399.7 (1264 − 1550) (n = 66)	0.707	0.517	0.919	0.980
III trimester	10938 (9623.9 − 12431.6) (n = 87)	9348.8 (7918.8 − 11025.9) (n = 52)	4505.3 (3565.3 − 5693) (n = 26)	4514.3 (3480.7 − 5860.6) (n = 21)	0.454	0.343	0.441	0.143
s-PlGF (pg/ml)
I trimester	31.7 (29.3 − 34.3) (n = 104)	28.5 (25.6 − 31.8) (n = 55)	41.6 (38.3 − 45.3) (n = 94)	41.0 (37.1 − 45.2) (n = 66)	0.202	0.284	0.347	0.420
III trimester	78.7 (68.2 − 90.9) (n = 87)	88.9 (73.7 − 107) (n = 52)	150.4 (115.5 − 195.6) (n = 26)	170.5 (127.1 − 228.6) (n = 21)	0.291	0.285	0.981	0.918
s-Eng (ng/ml)
I trimester	6.1 (5.8 − 6.46) (n = 103)	5.7 (5.3 − 6.1) (n = 56)	5.7 (5.4 − 6.0) (n = 94)	5.4 (5.1 − 5.8) (n = 66)	0.055	0.419	0.726	0.802
III trimester	43.6 (38.2 − 50.0) (n = 87)	37.8 (31.8 − 44.9) (n = 52)	19.5 (15.3 − 24.9) (n = 26)	14.9 (11.3 − 19.5) (n = 21)	0.055	0.631	0.553	0.939
sFlt1/s-PlGF
I trimester	41.3 (37.6 − 45.4) (n = 104)	45.4 (39.9 − 51.6) (n = 55)	34.1 (30.8 − 37.6) (n = 94)	34.2 (30.4 − 38.4) (n = 66)	0.396	0.122	0.423	0.410
III trimester	138.9 (114.0 − 169.2) (n = 87)	105.2 (81.5 − 135.8) (n = 52)	30.0 (20.9 − 43.0) (n = 26)	26.5 (17.7 − 39.6) (n = 21)	0.210	0.834	0.630	0.324

Data are presented as median (range).

^aExercise 2 − 3 times/week or more. ^bExercise less than 2 − 3 times/week. ^cAdjusted for pre-pregnancy BMI, parity, mother’s age at birth and smoking status during pregnancy.

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that some access restrictions apply to the data. The researchers interested in using the data must obtain approval from the FINNPEC Board (steering committee). The researchers using the data are required to follow the terms of a number of clauses designed to ensure the protection of privacy and compliance with relevant Finnish laws. Data requests may be subject to further review by the Ethics Committee and may also be subject to individual participant consent.