A paper examining the association between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and offspring developmental delay was published
Developmental delays in childhood may continue after school entry, and early screening and support are considered important. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) have been suggested to be associated with delayed child development, but previous studies have not clearly demonstrated the relevance. HDP is also a risk factor for preterm birth and low birth weight, but the extent to which health status at birth mediates the association between HDP and child development has not been examined. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the relationship between HDP and child development and whether neonatal outcomes mediate this relationship.
The incidence of HDP among pregnant women participating in the three-generation cohort study was 10.4%. The study found that in the five domains of development (communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal/social), the percentage of children with possible developmental delays at 24 months of age ranged from 9.2-17.6% and at 42 months of age from 11.9-13.8%. The communication and personal/social domains were associated with the likelihood of developmental delay. In addition, this association was partially mediated by neonatal outcomes. On the other hand, there was no association with the likelihood of developmental delay at 42 months of age.
This study suggests that prevention and treatment of HDP is important. It also suggests that assessment of development at 24 months of age may also be important to provide early support, especially if HDP occurred during pregnancy.
[Bibliographic Information]
Title: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, neonatal outcomes and offspring developmental delay in Japan: The Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study
Author(s): Geng Chen, Mami Ishikuro, Hisashi Ohseto, Keiko Murakami, Aoi Noda, Genki Shinoda, Masatsugu Orui, Taku Obara, Shinichi Kuriyama
Journal: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
Publication date: March. 7th, 2024
DOI：10.1111/aogs.14820
URL: https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aogs.14820