Effect of Pregnancy Interval on Second Pregnancy Blood Pressure Following Prior Preeclampsia

Subclinical Metabolic and Cardiovascular Factors and Brain White Matter Microstructural Integrity in Young Women

Women who have experienced pregnancy complications, specifically preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, have well documented increased risks of cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurological disease later in life. This study examined how specific cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors for preeclampsia assessed in a non-pregnant state were associated with brain white matter microstructural integrity. This study examined sixty-two healthy women (mean age 31 ± 5 years) who received metabolic and cardiovascular assessments as well as multiple modality MRI imaging. Participants were either nulliparous (n = 31) or had a history of preterm preeclampsia (n = 31). Imaging included acquisition Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) to assess white matter integrity within the brain. We hypothesized that healthy, young, non-pregnant women with cardiovascular and metabolic profiles suggesting elevated risk would have decreased white matter integrity, represented by lower Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and increased Mean Diffusivity (MD) estimates in the posterior cortical areas of the brain. We observed increased white matter degradation (lower FA and increased MD) in posterior and occipital tracts, commissural fibers, and subcortical structures in women with increased adiposity, worse measures of cardiovascular and metabolic function, including greater insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), hyperlipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and increased arterial stiffness. The relationships detected between subclinical cardiovascular and metabolic phenotypes and increased white matter disruption at a young age, outside of pregnancy, are indicative that adverse changes are detectable long before cognitive clinical presentation. This may suggest that many of the long-term cardiovascular and metabolic risks of aging are influenced by physiologic aging trajectories rather than damage caused by pregnancy complications.

Prepregnancy physiology and subsequent preterm preeclampsia

BACKGROUND

Preeclampsia is a common pregnancy complication with debated etiology.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the contribution of prepregnancy physiology, biochemistry, and anthropometrics to the subsequent development of preterm preeclampsia.

STUDY DESIGN

One hundred twenty-four participants were recruited through open recruitment and targeted mailings. Participants included 81 nulliparous women and 43 with a history of preterm preeclampsia. We characterized cardiovascular function, metabolic profile, and body composition in 100 nonpregnant women who went on to subsequent pregnancy. Measures included plasma volume, baseline cardiovascular function and cardiovascular response to volume challenge, body composition, and circulating biochemical measures. Pregnancy outcome was obtained through chart review. Prepregnancy metrics for women who developed preterm preeclampsia were compared with measurements for those who did not, with adjustment for a history of prior preterm preeclampsia. Logistic regression modeling was used to identify the strongest prepregnancy factors associated with preterm preeclampsia.

RESULTS

Pregnancy outcomes included 11 women with preterm preeclampsia, 7 women with term preeclampsia, 20 women with other hypertension affecting their pregnancy, and 62 with uncomplicated pregnancies. We observed no difference in maternal age, study cycle day, lean body mass, uterine hemodynamics, or flow-mediated dilation across groups. Women with preterm preeclampsia had greater android fat content 3215±1143 vs 1918±1510 g (P=.002), faster supine pulse, 77±7 vs 67±10 beats per minute (P=.001), higher supine diastolic blood pressure 82±6 vs 68±6 mmHg (P<.001), increased cardiac output 5.6±1.1 vs 4.6±1 L/min (P=.002), faster aortic-popliteal pulse wave velocity 4.5±0.7 vs 3.8±0.5 m/sec (P<.001), and exaggerated cardiac output response to volume challenge 20±9 vs 9±12 L/min (P=.002) compared to those with other pregnancy outcomes. Women who developed preterm preeclampsia also had reduced renal vascular resistance index 0.86±0.08 vs 0.97±0.12 (P=.005) compared with other pregnancy outcomes when assessed prior to pregnancy. Women with subsequent preterm preeclampsia had higher serum c-reactive protein 10.7±12.5 vs 4.1±5.8 mg/mL (P=.003) and greater insulin resistance, as assessed by Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance calculation 2.2±1.1 vs 1.2±0.9 (P<.001).

CONCLUSION

Prepregnancy physiology is linked to subsequent preterm preeclampsia. The same factors associated with metabolic syndrome are more prominent in patients who develop preterm preeclampsia than those who do not, including increased vessel stiffness, low vascular compliance, high cardiac output, reduced renal vascular resistance index, insulin resistance, and increased android fat, all consistent with subclinical features of the metabolic syndrome.

Longitudinal blood pressure patterns of women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: preconception through postpartum

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the longitudinal blood pressure (BP) pattern of women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) preconception through the postpartum day (PPD) 42.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective study of women (≥15 years old) diagnosed with an HDP antenatally or postpartum, who were enrolled prospectively in a postpartum remote BP monitoring program between 3/2017 and 5/2020. BPs were collected from 47-time points: preconception, each trimester, delivery day, and 42 days postpartum. Analysis was conducted utilizing a mixed-effects longitudinal model.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary outcome was the longitudinal BP patterns. Secondary outcomes were the timing of BP stabilization (BPs < 140/90 mmHg for ≥48 h) and resolution (stabilized without antihypertensive medication use).

RESULTS

Our final analysis included 897 of the 964 eligible women. The peak systolic and diastolic BPs were on PPDs 3, 4, 5, and 5, 6, 7, respectively. Systolic BP fell below the preconception level after PPD15; diastolic BP reached its plateau after PPD17 and remained above the preconception level till PPD42 (p < .001). Postpartum BP peaked with the highest percentage of BP spikes on PPDs 4-7. The median survival times to BP stabilization and resolution were PPDs 11 (95% CI: 10-12) and 23 (95% CI: 21-25), respectively. By PPD42, 91.0% and 74.1% of women achieved BP stabilization and resolution, respectively.

CONCLUSION

This study data could be used to develop evidence-based recommendations for women with an HDP. Diastolic BPs remaining significantly higher than the preconception level indicates the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease. In our cohort, 26% of women had unresolved hypertension by PPD42, which reinforces the necessity to ensure long-term follow-up.

The interval between births and the risk of recurrent preeclampsia among predominantly high risk women in urban tertiary care center

INTRODUCTION

Women with a history of preeclampsia have a higher risk of recurrent preeclampsia. This study sought to ascertain the relationship between the interbirth interval and the risk of recurrent preeclampsia and difference in angiogenic markers between the two groups.

METHODS

Data was collected from an ongoing cohort study of women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) enrolled at the admission to the labor and delivery floor. From this dataset, multigravida women with a prior diagnosis of preeclampsia were identified and compared to women with no prior history of preeclampsia.

RESULTS

Of the 375 women with HDP who were predominantly African American, 245 were multigravida and 44 (18.0%) had a prior history of preeclampsia. Women with prior preeclampsia had an earlier gestational age of delivery, higher rates of preterm delivery and a higher incidence of preeclampsia with severe features (56.8% vs 29.8%) in the index pregnancy (p-values ≤ 0.001) than those without. The median number of years between history of preeclampsia in previous pregnancy and current pregnancy was 6 years (IQR 3, 8). Among patients with a prior history of preeclampsia, the interbirth interval was not associated with severe preeclampsia (p = 0.60) and there was no difference in angiogenic factors between patients with a prior history of preeclampsia compared to those without.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the duration of the interbirth interval was not identified as a risk factor of developing severe preeclampsia in a subsequent pregnancy and angiogenic factors are not a reflection of maternal predisposition to recurrent preeclampsia.

Pre-Pregnancy Obesity vs. Other Risk Factors in Probability Models of Preeclampsia and Gestational Hypertension

In the face of the obesity epidemic around the world, attention should be focused on the role of maternal obesity in the development of pregnancy. The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the prediction of preeclampsia (PE) and isolated gestational hypertension (GH) for a number of maternal factors, in order to investigate the importance of pre-pregnancy obesity (body mass index, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²), compared to other risk factors (e.g., prior PE, pregnancy weight gain (GWG), infertility treatment, interpregnancy interval, family history, the lack of vitamin supplementation, urogenital infection, and socioeconomic factors). In total, 912 women without chronic diseases were examined in a Polish prospective cohort of women with a singleton pregnancy (recruited in 2015–2016). Separate analyses were performed for the women who developed GH (n = 113) vs. 775 women who remained normotensive, as well as for those who developed PE (n = 24) vs. 775 controls. The probability of each disease was assessed for the base prediction model (age + primiparity) and for the model extended by one (test) variable, using logistic regression. Three measures were used to assess the prediction: area under curve (AUC) of the base and extended model, integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) (the index shows the difference between the value of the mean change in the predicted probability between the group of sick and healthy women when a new factor is added to the model), and net reclassification improvement (NRI) (the index focuses on the reclassification table describing the number of women in whom an upward or downward shift in the disease probability value occurred after a new factor had been added, including results for healthy and sick women). In the GH prediction, AUC increased most strongly when we added BMI (kg/m²) as a continuous variable (AUC = 0.716, p < 0.001) to the base model. The highest IDI index was obtained for prior GH/PE (IDI = 0.068, p < 0.001). The addition of BMI as a continuous variable or BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² improved the classification for healthy and sick women the most (NRI = 0.571, p < 0.001). In the PE prediction, AUC increased most strongly when we added BMI categories (AUC = 0.726, p < 0.001) to the base model. The highest IDI index was obtained for prior GH/PE (IDI = 0.050, p = 0.080). The addition of BMI categories improved the classification for healthy and sick women the most (NRI = 0.688; p = 0.001). After summing up the results of three indexes, the probability of hypertension in pregnancy was most strongly improved by BMI, including BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² for the GH prediction, and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² for the PE prediction. Main conclusions: Pre-pregnancy BMI was the most likely factor to increase the probability of developing hypertension in pregnancy, compared to other risk factors. Hierarchies of PE and GH risk factors may suggest different (or common) mechanisms of their development.

Paternal deficiency of complement component C1q leads to a preeclampsia-like pregnancy in wild-type female mice and vascular adaptations postpartum

Preeclampsia is a spontaneously occurring, pregnancy-specific syndrome that is clinically diagnosed by new onset hypertension and proteinuria. Epidemiological evidence describes an association between a history of preeclampsia and increased risk for cardiovascular disease in later life; however, the mechanism(s) driving this relationship are unclear. Our study aims to leverage a novel preeclampsia-like mouse model, the C1q^-/- model, to help elucidate the acute and persistent vascular changes during and following a preeclampsia-like pregnancy. Female C57BL/6J mice were mated to C1q^-/- male mice to model a preeclampsia-like pregnancy ("PE-like"), and the maternal cardiovascular phenotype (blood pressure, renal function, systemic glycocalyx, and ex vivo vascular function) was assessed in late pregnancy and postpartum at 6 and 10 mo of age. Uncomplicated, normotensive pregnancies (female C57BL/6J bred to male C57BL/6J mice) served as age-matched controls. In pregnancy, PE-like dams exhibited increased systolic and diastolic pressure during mid- and late gestation, renal dysfunction, fetal growth restriction, and reduced placental efficiency. Ex vivo wire myography studies of mesenteric arteries revealed severe pregnancy-specific endothelial-dependent and -independent vascular dysfunction. At 3 and 7 mo postpartum (6 and 10 mo old, respectively), hypertension resolved in PE-like dams, whereas mild vascular dysfunction persisted at 3 mo postpartum. In conclusion, the female C57BL/6J-by-male C57BL/6J C1q^-/- model recapitulates many aspects of the human preeclampsia syndrome in a low-risk, wild-type female mouse. The pregnancy-specific phenotype results in systemic maternal endothelial-dependent and -independent vascular dysfunction that persists postpartum.