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Pre‐eclampsia is associated with airway hyperresponsiveness
Author(s) -
Siddiqui S,
Goodman N,
McKenna S,
Goldie M,
Waugh J,
Brightling CE
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2007.01623.x
Subject(s) - medicine , methacholine , airway hyperresponsiveness , asthma , eclampsia , atopy , airway , bronchial hyperresponsiveness , pregnancy , anesthesia , gastroenterology , respiratory disease , lung , biology , genetics
Several large retrospective cohort studies demonstrate that pre‐eclampsia is common in asthmatics. Whether airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), a hallmark of asthma, is associated with pre‐eclampsia is unknown. We measured AHR, using a methacholine challenge, and atopy in 19 women 3–60 months postpartum following pre‐eclamptic or normotensive pregnancies. The geometric mean (95% CI) concentration of methacholine required to produce a >20% fall in the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (PC 20 FEV 1 ) was 8.9 (2.2–36) mg/ml in pre‐eclamptics versus 72 (32–131) mg/ml in controls ( P = 0.01) and 9 (1.9–40) mg/ml in atopic pre‐eclamptics without asthma versus 54 (17–174) mg/ml ( P = 0.038) in matched controls. Therefore, AHR was increased in women who have had pre‐eclampsia. This association and its possible mechanisms warrant further investigation.