Risk of preeclampsia among women living in coastal areas impacted by sargassum strandings on the French Caribbean island of Martinique

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate preeclampsia risk of pregnant women living in coastal areas regularly impacted by massive sargassum strandings. DesignRetrospective cohort study Settings and populationPregnant women (n = 3020), seen at the University Hospital of Martinique, were included between 25/01/2016 and 31/07/2020. MethodsPatient records were retrospectively reviewed. Distance from coastline sargassum stranding sites was characterized as follows: < 500 m, 500 m-2 km, > 2 km. Main outcome measuresPrimary endpoint was occurrence of preeclampsia. Secondary endpoint was time to preeclampsia defined as the number of weeks free of preeclampsia between the 20th and 37th week of amenorrhea. ResultsTime to preeclampsia onset was significantly shorter in women living in the ≤ 2 km range (mean survival time 32 ± 1 amenorrhea weeks) compared to those beyond 2 km (mean survival time 35 ± 1 amenorrhea weeks, p = 0.037). ConclusionAlong with traditional risk factors, environmental exposure to sargassum strandings might potentially trigger early onset of preeclampsia.