Conclusions
In women of black racial origin, compared to white women, the risk of GH
is 25% higher and the risk of PE is 2-fold higher after adjustment for
confounding factors in maternal characteristics and medical history. In
women of South Asian origin, the risk of preterm PE is 1.5-fold higher
than in white women. Accurate assessment of the contribution of
different racial groups to the prediction of PE necessitates prospective
examination of pregnancies and appropriate adjustment for confounders
rather than meta-analyses of heterogeneous studies with no or minimal
adjustment for confounders.
Acknowledgements: This study was supported by grants from the
Fetal Medicine Foundation (UK Charity No: 1037116). This body had no
involvement in the study design; in the collection, analysis and
interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the
decision to submit the article for publication. The search of the
literature for the metanalysis was conducted by Mrs Sonya Di Giorgio,
Clinical Support Librarian, King’s College London, UK.
Disclosure of interests: The authors report no conflict of
interest.
Contribution to authorship: KHN and AA conceptualized and
designed the study and wrote the first draft of the paper. AS and RA
were involved in the sample collection for the FMF study. AA and DV
carried out the systematic review of the literature and quality
assessment of the selected articles. MMG conducted the statistical
analysis. All authors revised and contributed to the intellectual
content of the manuscript.
Details of ethics approval: The study was approved by the UK
NHS Research Ethics Committee (REC reference: 02-03-033 on
11th March 2003).