title: Chronic Hepatitis B Infection is Associated with Decreased Risk of Preeclampsia: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preeclampsia is a complex multi-system obstetric syndrome and remains one of the leading causes contributing to maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. Previous epidemiological studies regarding the association between chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) infection and the risk of preeclampsia have reported inconsistent results. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the association between CHB infection and preeclampsia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The electronic database was searched until January 1st, 2016. Relevant studies reporting the association between CHB infection and the risk of preeclampsia were included and for further evaluation. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata 10.0 (Stata Corp).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three observational cohort studies and eight case-control studies, including 11566 preeclampsia patients, were identified. A significant negative association between CHB infection and preeclampsia was observed (odds ratio = 0.77, 95% confidence interval, 0.65- 0.90, P=0.002, fixed-effect model).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings from our meta-analysis indicate that CHB infection may decrease the risk of preeclampsia in Asian population. Future prospective cohorts in different countries with larger sample sizes are warranted to ascertain the causality and pathophysiological studies are required to explore the possible biological mechanisms involved.
authors.forename: Qi-Tao
authors.initials: QT
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jian-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Li-Lin
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Hang
authors.forename: Shan-Shan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Yan-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D064887:Observational Studies as Topic; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012306:Risk