Introduction: Pre-eclampsia is part of a spectrum of conditions known as the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. It is claimed that pregnant women with pre-eclampsia or eclampsia are at increased risk of kidney disease and hypertension later in life. We investigated whether Iranian women with a history of pre-eclampsia had higher rates of hypertension and microalbuminuria compared with women with uneventful pregnancy.
Materials and methods: Medical records of pregnancies delivered at two hospitals in Ahvaz, between March 2001 and February 2003 were reviewed. Thirty-five pre-eclamptic women were identified and contacted for assessment of hypertension and albuminuria. They were compared with 35 women matched for year of delivery and age who had a pregnancy uncomplicated by hypertension.
Results: The mean follow-up from the index pregnancy was 5.7 years (range, 5.2 to 7.3 years). While only 1 woman (2.9%) in the control group was currently hypertensive, 28.6% of those with a history of pre-eclampsia (n = 10) were hypertensive (P = .003; relative risk, 10.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.35 to 74.00), 7 of whom were receiving antihypertensive medication at the time of evaluation. Among the formerly pre-eclamptic women, 7 had albuminuria (20.0%), whereas none of the controls were albuminuric (P < .001). Microalbuminuria was present in all hypertensive women in the pre-eclampsia group, but not in the only women in the control group with hypertension.
Conclusions: We showed that in patients with a history of pre-eclampsia, there are increased risks of hypertension and microalbuminuria in the long term after pregnancy.