Maternal Morbidity Associated With Early-Onset and Late-Onset Preeclampsia

In Brief OBJECTIVE: To examine temporal trends in early-onset compared with late-onset preeclampsia and associated severe maternal morbidity. METHODS: The study included all singleton deliveries in Washington State between 2000 and 2008 (N=670,120). Preeclampsia onset was determined using hospital records linked to birth certificates. Severe maternal morbidity was defined as any potentially life-threatening condition. Logistic regression was used to obtain adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: The preeclampsia rate was 3.0 per 100 singleton births, and increased slightly from 2.9 to 3.1 between 2000 and 2008. Rates of early-onset and late-onset disease were 0.3% and 2.7%, respectively. The temporal increase was significant only for early-onset disease (4.5%/year; 95% CI 2.3–5.8%) after adjustment for changes in maternal characteristics. Maternal death rates were higher among women with early-onset (42.1/100,000 deliveries) and late-onset preeclampsia (11.2/100,000) compared with women without preeclampsia (4.2/100,000). The rate of severe maternal morbidity (excluding obstetric trauma) was 12.2 per 100 deliveries in the early-onset group (aOR 3.7, 95% CI 3.2–4.3), 5.5 per 100 deliveries in the late-onset group (aOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.6–1.9), and approximately 3 per 100 in women without preeclampsia. Early-onset preeclampsia conferred a substantially higher risk of cardiovascular, respiratory, central nervous system, renal, hepatic, and other morbidity. However, rates of obstetric trauma were significantly lower among women with preeclampsia. CONCLUSION: Women with early-onset and late-onset preeclampsia have significantly higher rates of specific maternal morbidity compared with women without early-onset and late-onset disease. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II Early-onset and late-onset preeclampsia differ in their association with specific severe maternal morbidity.