Pre-eclampsia linked with higher risk of preterm delivery.(Brief Article)

2002 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Every 6 minutes, a woman dies of pre-eclampsia - nine women an hour, according to the Pre-eclampsia Foundation. The disorder, which is linked to hypertension and affects 3 million women a year worldwide, can be equally devastating for infants.

Now, research presented at the 13th World Congress of the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy by scientists from the Magee-Womens Research Institute and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine suggests that the risk of pre-eclampsia may actually decrease if a woman smokes, but that the negative effects of pre-eclampsia may persist even though the condition itself is not present in a later pregnancy.

"Research is closing in on this menace," said James M. Roberts, MD, professor and chairman of research in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, director of the Magee-Womens Research Institute and president of the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy. "But there is still much to do."

By comparing the uric acid concentrations in blood samples among women with normal pregnancies including smokers, nonsmokers and women who had quit smoking during pregnancy, Kristine Yoder Lain, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and her colleagues found elevated levels of uric acid in smokers. But the highest rate ...