Racial differences in outcome of pregnancies complicated by hypertension.
Racial differences in the outcome of pregnancies complicated by hypertension (HTN) were examined using data obtained from a large perinatal data base with 109,428 consecutive deliveries from 1982 to 1987. Black women had a higher prevalence of hypertension than white women (prevalence ratio 2.3, 95% CI 2.2, 2.5). However, when compared to normotensive women of similar race, white hypertensive women showed a higher risk for adverse pregnancy outcome than black hypertensives as indicated by the higher odds ratio for prematurity (OR: 1.7 for white [W], 1.2 for black [B]), low birth weight (OR: 2.4 W; 1.5 B), intrauterine growth retardation (OR: 4.4 W; 1.6 B) and perinatal death (OR 2.3 W; 1.2 B). Hypertension was associated with a 156 g reduction in birthweight of newborns in whites as compared to a 63 g reduction in blacks. Further studies are needed to understand the racial differences in the impact of HTN on pregnancy outcome.
Jain
L
L
Department of Pediatrics, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA. ljain@emory.edu
Ferre
C
C
Vidyasagar
D
D
D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D044383:Black People; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology*; D007234:Infant, Premature; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000208:ethnology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D044469:Racial Groups; D044465:White People