Family history of hypertension as an important risk factor for the development of severe preeclampsia

Abstract

Objective. To determine the risk of preeclampsia in a population with respect to maternal and sister histories of chronic hypertension, preeclampsia and eclampsia. Design. A case-control study of severe preeclampsia. Setting. Maternity hospital in Natal, Brazil. Participants. A total of 412 subjects were enrolled, 148 cases and 264 controls. Main outcome measures. Personal and familial histories of hypertensive disorders. Odds ratio estimates of preeclampsia with respect to family history of hypertensive diseases. Results. Women with a history of hypertensive disorders were more frequent in the case group (p = 0.001). Women whose mothers had a history of hypertension (p = 0.003), preeclampsia (p = 0.007) or eclampsia (p = 0.038) were at increased risk of severe preeclampsia. The risk of preeclampsia was greater when the woman had a sister with a history of hypertension (OR 2.60, 95% CI 1.60–4.21, p < 0.001), preeclampsia (OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.58–3.45, p < 0.001), or eclampsia (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.28–5.16, p = 0.008). The risk of preeclampsia was also higher for women who had both a mother and sister with a history of hypertension (OR 3.65, 95% CI 1.65–8.09, p = 0.001). Conclusions. A family history of hypertensive disorders increased the risk of eclampsia and hemolysis elevated liver enzymes and low platelet (HELLP) syndrome in a Brazilian population.

Key words::

• Preeclampsia
• HELLP syndrome
• eclampsia
• Brazil

Acknowledgements

We thank Priya Duggal from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) and Emma Rodewald, BS, for helpful suggestions and the staff of Maternidade Escola Januário Cicco, where this study was conducted. This work was funded in part by a grant from Fundação de Apoio a Pesquisa no Rio Grande do Norte (FAPERN). LCF and AKJ received fellowship from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding institutions.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone take full responsibility for the content and writing of the manuscript.