Preeclampsia as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease later in life: validation of a preeclampsia questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to validate a self-administered questionnaire in verifying the diagnosis of preeclampsia, eclampsia, or toxemia in a group of women with a greater than 20-year history of preeclampsia.


METHODS
Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 144 women who received a diagnosis of any of these 3 conditions and 158 women who had normotensive pregnancies at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, from 1960-1979.


RESULTS
A previous diagnosis of preeclampsia, eclampsia, or toxemia was verified with 80% sensitivity and 96% specificity.


CONCLUSIONS
Our validated questionnaire may be a useful research tool in identifying women with a previous history of preeclampsia. Women with a history of preeclampsia had a higher prevalence of future hypertension than those with a history of normotensive pregnancy.
Diehl
Courtenay L
CL
Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Brost
Brian C
BC
Hogan
Marie C
MC
Elesber
Ahmad A
AA
Offord
Keneth P
KP
Turner
Stephen T
ST
Garovic
Vesna D
VD
D000328:Adult; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires