These authors contributed equally to this work.
Obesity Comorbidity/Etiology and Pathophysiology
Maternal adiposity as an independent risk factor for pre-eclampsia: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies
Version of Record online: 26 MAR 2013
© 2013 The Authors. obesity reviews © 2013 International Association for the Study of Obesity
Volume 14, Issue 6, pages 508–521, June 2013
How to Cite
Wang, Z., Wang, P., Liu, H., He, X., Zhang, J., Yan, H., Xu, D. and Wang, B. (2013), Maternal adiposity as an independent risk factor for pre-eclampsia: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Obesity Reviews, 14: 508–521. doi: 10.1111/obr.12025
- Issue online: 24 APR 2013
- Version of Record online: 26 MAR 2013
- Manuscript Accepted: 12 JAN 2013
- Manuscript Revised: 11 JAN 2013
- Manuscript Received: 20 OCT 2012
Studies investigating the association between maternal adiposity and risk of pre-eclampsia showed contradictory results. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies to estimate the effect of maternal adiposity on pre-eclampsia. We reviewed 1,286 abstracts and finally included 29 prospective cohort studies with 1,980,761 participants and 67,075 pre-eclampsia events. We pooled data with a random-effects model, and obtained risk estimates for five predetermined bodyweight groups: low, normal-weight (reference), overweight, obese and severely obese. In the cohort studies that unadjusted for pre-eclampsia risk factors, the pooled unadjusted relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for pre-eclampsia of overweight, obese and severely obese women were 1.58 (95% CI 1.44–1.72, P < 0.001), 2.68 (95% CI 2.39–3.01, P < 0.001) and 3.12 (95% CI 2.24–4.36, P < 0.001), respectively. In those cohorts that adjusted for pre-eclampsia risk factors, the pooled unadjusted RRs for pre-eclampsia of overweight, obese and severely obese women were 1.70 (95% CI 1.60–1.81, P < 0.001), 2.93 (95% CI 2.58–3.33, P < 0.001) and 4.14 (95% CI 3.61–4.75, P < 0.001), respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed maternal adiposity was associated with increased risk of pre-eclampsia in both nulliparous and multiparas women. In conclusion, overweight or obese pregnant women have a substantially increased risk of pre-eclampsia, and maternal adiposity is an independent risk factor of pre-eclampsia.