Obesity and Hypertension are Risk Factors for Villitis of Unknown Etiology

Abstract

Villitis of unknown etiology (VUE) is an inflammatory placental condition characterized by maternal CD8+ T lymphocyte infiltration into the fetal villi. It has been linked with adverse fetal outcomes and recurrence in subsequent pregnancies, making it a clinically significant pathology. As predicting onset of VUE prior to delivery would allow for the development of treatments or preventative strategies, our study sought to determine maternal risk factors and placental pathologies associated with VUE.