title: Endothelial dysfunction after pregnancy-induced hypertension.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To carry out long-term analysis of the presence of endothelial dysfunction after the development of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH).
  
  
  METHODS
  In a retrospective cohort study, data were analyzed from 60 women who delivered at a tertiary maternity hospital in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, between 1992 and 2002. Thirty women had a history of PIH and 30 had no history of complications. Anthropometric and laboratory data were collected, and endothelial function was evaluated by flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery. Continuous variables were analyzed via Student t test, and Mann-Whitney test was used to compare means. Clinical and metabolic measures were categorized according to cardiovascular risk by cutoff points determined by national consensus; χ2 and Fisher exact tests were used to compare the groups. Relative risk was calculated for variables that were statistically significant (P<0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women with a history of PIH had higher body mass index (P=0.03), systolic blood pressure (P=0.03), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=0.02), and fasting glucose (P=0.02) compared with women with no pregnancy complications. The frequency of endothelial dysfunction was 60% among all women, with a significant difference between the 2 groups (P=0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women with a history of PIH were found to have a higher frequency of long-term endothelial dysfunction.
authors: Department of Public Health, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil. Electronic address: anacileiahenriques@gmail.com.
authors: Ana C P T
authors: AC
authors: Henriques
authors: Department of Public Health, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil.
authors: Francisco H C
authors: FH
authors: Carvalho
authors: Department of Maternal and Child Health, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil.
authors: Helvécio N
authors: HN
authors: Feitosa
authors: Medical School, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil.
authors: Raimunda H M
authors: RH
authors: Macena
authors: Department of Public Health, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil.
authors: Rosa M S
authors: RM
authors: Mota
authors: Medical School, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil.
authors: Júlio C G
authors: JC
authors: Alencar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001916:Brachial Artery; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D046110:Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose
keywords: Hypertension; Pre-eclampsia; Pregnancy-induced; Vascular endothelium