title: Relationships of risk factors for pre-eclampsia with patterns of occurrence of isolated gestational proteinuria during normal term pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Isolated gestational proteinuria may be part of the pre-eclampsia disease spectrum. Confirmation of its association with established pre-eclampsia risk factors and higher blood pressure in uncomplicated pregnancies would support this concept.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 11,651 women from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children who had a term live birth but did not have pre-existing hypertension or diabetes or develop gestational diabetes or preeclampsia were used. Proteinuria was assessed repeatedly (median 12 measurements per woman) by dipstick and latent class analysis was used to identify subgroups of the population with different patterns of proteinuria in pregnancy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), younger age, nulliparity and twin pregnancy were independently associated with increased odds of any proteinuria in pregnancy. Women who experienced proteinuria showed five patterns: proteinuria in early pregnancy only (≤ 20 weeks gestation), and onset at 21-28 weeks, 29-32 weeks, 33-36 weeks and ≥ 37 weeks gestation. There were higher odds of proteinuria onset after 33 weeks in obese women and after 37 weeks in nulliparous women compared with normal weight and multiparous women respectively. Smoking in pregnancy was weakly negatively associated with odds of proteinuria onset after 37 weeks. Twin pregnancies had higher odds of proteinuria onset from 29 weeks. In women with proteinuria onset after 33 weeks blood pressure was higher in early pregnancy and at the end of pregnancy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Established pre-eclampsia risk factors were related to proteinuria occurrence in late gestation in healthy term pregnancies, supporting the hypothesis that isolated gestational proteinuria may represent an early manifestation of pre-eclampsia.
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Corrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Macdonald-Wallis
authors.forename: Debbie A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lawlor
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heron
authors.forename: Abigail
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fraser
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tilling
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011507:Proteinuria / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult