Preeclampsia May Hike Risk of Future Renal Disease

SAN DIEGO—Women with a history of hypertensive pregnancy disorders (HPD), including preeclampsia, may be at increased risk for renal disease later in life, researchers reported at Kidney Week 2012.

In a population-based study of mothers in Olmsted County, Minnesota, Andrea G. Kattah, MD, of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues found that 149 (15%) of 1,023 women with diagnostic codes suggestive of HPD developed renal disease compared with 503 (8%) of 6,559 women without these diagnostic codes. The difference between the groups translated into a twofold increased risk of renal disease in the HPD group.

“Our data suggest that the renal function of the affected women should be closely monitored after their pregnancies,” the authors concluded.