Prehypertension in early pregnancy is a risk factor for hypertensive disorders during pregnancy: A historical cohort study in Japan

ABSTRACT

Objective: We evaluated the association between pre-hypertension (120–139 or 80–89 mmHg) in early pregnancy, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), and perinatal adverse outcomes.

Methods: We included 14,066 pregnant women, treated between 2003 and 2019 in Japan. Based on a blood pressure chart review recorded before 20 weeks of gestation, we stratified participants into the prehypertension (n = 3,806) and normotensive (n = 10,260) groups.

Results: Prehypertension, an independent risk factor for HDP in the multivariate analysis (P< 0.001), was significantly associated with preterm and small-for-gestational age infants.

Conclusion: Prehypertension potentially confers a risk for adverse perinatal outcomes in apparently normal pregnancies.

KEYWORDS:

• Prehypertension
• preterm birth
• small for gestational age
• hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.