Short- and long-term prognosis of blood pressure and kidney disease in women with a past history of preeclampsia

Little research has been conducted into the long-term effects of preeclampsia, despite its frequent occurrence. The aim of this review is to examine the association between preeclampsia and the development of hypertension and kidney diseases later in life. To achieve this aim, we evaluated three retrospective studies conducted in our department. In the first study, 52 women who suffered from preeclampsia during their first pregnancy were followed for 2 years after delivery for any long-term effects upon blood pressure. In the second study, we evaluated HOMA-R, pulse wave velocity and augmentation index in groups of 48 postmenopausal women with a past history of preeclampsia and 204 postmenopausal women without a past history of preeclampsia. In the third study, we examined the association between a past history of preeclampsia and chronic kidney disease based on biopsy in 127 postmenopausal women. From the first study, although there were no significant differences in age, blood pressure at the onset of preeclampsia, the levels of proteinuria and the birth weight of the child between women who remained hypertensive and those who became normotensive, body mass index was significantly larger in women who remained hypertensive compared to those who were normotensive. In the second study, we found that women with a past history of preeclampsia exhibited insulin resistance combined with reduced vascular elasticity. In the third study, of 32 patients with a past history of preeclampsia, 12 patients exhibited focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, 10 exhibited IgA nephropathy and 10 exhibited nephrosclerosis. In contrast, of the women without a past history of preeclampsia, 26 patients exhibited IgA nephropathy, 20 exhibited a minimal change in nephritic syndrome, 6 exhibited nephrosclerosis, 6 exhibited membranous nephropathy, 5 exhibited lupus nephritis, 5 exhibited diabetic nephropathy, and 27 exhibited various nephropathies. None of the women without a past history of preeclampsia exhibited focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Taken together with previous results, these findings suggest that hypertension and chronic kidney disease in postmenopausal women are closely associated with a past history of preeclampsia.