Risk of Preelcampsia Linked to Body Fat

A new study of pregnant women has found that the risk of preeclampsia rises sharply with an increase in pre-pregnancy body fat. The finding was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences in Washington, DC (USA), in April 2004.

The study, involving 1,179 pregnant women, found that the risk of preeclampsia rose sharply with even relatively small increases in pre-pregnancy body fat. What was most surprising was that the risk was elevated even among women who would not normally be classified as overweight when compared to women with less body fat. The study was presented by Lisa Bodnar, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Magee-Womens Research Institute (Pittsburgh, PA, USA), affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh (PA, USA).

Compared to women with a normal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) of 21 (130 pounds), women with a pre-pregnancy BMI of 26 (160 pounds), classified as "overweight” with a high ratio of body fat to muscle, were twice as likely to develop preeclampsia. Women with a BMI of 30 (185 pounds), classified as "obese,” were three times as likely to develop preeclampsia as the normal BMI women. The most surprising finding, according to Dr. Bodnar, was that a woman with a pre-pregnancy BMI of 17, classified as "underweight,” was only half as likely to develop preeclampsia as a woman with a BMI of 21, considered "normal weight.”

Further analysis of the data suggests that about half of the increased risk of preeclampsia is due to two factors long suspected of playing a role in its development. These are a heightened inflammatory response, often associated with high body mass, and elevated lipid values in the blood related to being overweight. Dr. Bodnar noted that understanding the mechanisms of the BMI/preeclampsia relationship could be extremely helpful in finding ways to treat the condition.


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