Abstract
Pre-eclampsia is a common pregnancy related condition, which contributes significantly both to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The precise pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia is uncertain, and the development of effective preventive strategies remains elusive.Schoenaker and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies reporting dietary intake and dietary patterns. The findings indicated that women with a low dietary calcium intake were more likely to be diagnosed with gestational hypertension, while there was a suggestion (although not statistically significant) of a beneficial effect of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables on risk of pre-eclampsia.This is in contrast to the findings of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised trials in pregnancy evaluating calcium supplementation and anti-oxidant vitamin C and E supplementation.The validity of any systematic review is reliant on both the underlying methodology and the quality of each of the included studies; the review by Schoenaker and colleagues is limited by the observational nature of the included studies.Please see related article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/12/157/abstract.
Highlights
Pre-eclampsia is a condition specific to the second half of pregnancy, affecting multiple organ systems, [1] and affecting approximately 2% to 8% of pregnant women [2]
While the condition is more commonly encountered among women in their first ongoing pregnancy, there are a number of additional recognised risk factors, including a past history of pre-eclampsia, underlying essential hypertension, the coexistence of autoimmune conditions and multi-fetal pregnancies [3]
Strategies to prevent pre-eclampsia: are dietary strategies the key? The recent systematic review and meta-analysis by Schoenaker and colleagues [21] reports an association between gestational hypertensive conditions, including pre-eclampsia, and dietary factors, based on observational studies
Summary
Pre-eclampsia is a condition specific to the second half of pregnancy, affecting multiple organ systems, [1] and affecting approximately 2% to 8% of pregnant women [2]. Pre-eclampsia is a contributing factor in up to one third of all cases of serious maternal morbidity, with 5% of women with severe disease requiring admission to intensive care [11,12], and in the longer-term, increases a woman’s risk of both chronic hypertension and cardiovascular disease [13,14]. Well conducted randomised trials and subsequent metaanalyses have demonstrated no beneficial effect of antioxidant vitamin supplementation in reducing a woman’s risk of developing pre-eclampsia [24].
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