Pre-eclampsia and later kidney problems

Pregnant women who develop pre-eclampsia and who have a low birth weight infant appear to have an increased risk of later kidney problems. The risk of kidney disease is highest in women with both factors. Preeclampsia is a complication of pregnancy characterised by elevated blood pressure and protein in the urine that occurs after the 20th week. Previous research has shown that pre-eclampsia is associated with later cardiovascular disease in the mother. To evaluate the link between pregnancy outcomes and kidney disease, researchers from the University of Bergen in Norway correlated data from a Norwegian birth registry with that from a kidney biopsy registry. The study included 756,420 women, of whom 588 underwent kidney biopsy an average of 15.9 years after the birth of their child. Preeclampsia and having a low birth weight infant, either alone or in combination, was tied to an elevated risk of kidney biopsy. Moreover, the risk of kidney disease increased as infant birth weight decreased. Though the study expected to find pre-eclampsia and low birth weight associated with the development of kidney disease, but the strength of the associations was surprising. Also, pregnancy outcome predicted future kidney disease in general, and not just a specific type. The development of pre-eclampsia and kidney disease may involve similar mechanisms, therefore further studies are needed to determine if it would be worthwhile, from a public health standpoint, to screen women with a pre-eclampsia history for kidney disease.