INTRODUCTION
Preeclampsia (PE), which complicates 2-4% of pregnancies, is associated
with a global annual rate of about 75,000 maternal deaths and 500,000
baby deaths.1,2 The risk for development of PE is
related to several maternal characteristics, including age, weight,
racial origin, method of conception, prior and family history of PE, and
pre-existing medical conditions, such as chronic hypertension, diabetes
mellitus and autoimmune disease.3
Studies from countries with populations that are of predominantly white
racial origin have consistently reported that in minority groups, such
as women of black racial origin, the incidence of PE is
increased.4-19 In a small number of studies the
incidence of PE in women of East Asian racial origin tended to be lower
than in white women, whereas in South Asian women the incidence tended
to be similar to that in white women.9,12,15,16,20-22However, in most of these studies the observed relative incidence of PE
was not adjusted for confounding factors in maternal characteristics and
medical history. In a previous study of 76,158 singleton pregnancies
with a live fetus at 11+0 to 13+6weeks, we adjusted for confounders and reported that in women of black
and South Asian racial origin, but not in East Asian women, the
incidence of PE was higher than in white women.23
The objectives of this extended study of 168,966 singleton pregnancies
with a live fetus at 11+0 to 13+6weeks are first, to examine the association between maternal racial
origin and PE after adjustment for confounding factors in maternal
demographic characteristics and medical history in the data from the
Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF), and second, to carry out a systematic
review of the literature and meta-analysis of all studies on this topic.