Maternal preeclampsia and risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants

INTRODUCTION: To better understand whether preeclampsia (PE) increases the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). RESULTS: Of 753 infants alive at 36 wks, 138 (18.3%) were exposed to PE. BPD was not significantly related to exposure to PE either before (odds ratio (OR) 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50, 1.06) or after adjustment for confounding variables (adjusted OR 1.14; 95% CI 0.71, 1.81). If infants were selected by gestational age alone, there was no association (OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.63, 1.75). In contrast, selecting by birth weight alone, PE was associated with a significant reduction in BPD (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.41, 0.91). However, this effect disappeared after adjustment for confounding variables. DISCUSSION: Conclusions were unchanged when data from other studies were included in a pooled analysis. PE does not significantly affect the risk of BPD in extremely preterm (EP) or extremely-low-birth-weight (ELBW) subjects. METHODS: We examined data on EP (<28 wks gestation) or ELBW (<1,000 g) infants live born in Victoria, Australia, in three eras: 1991-1992, 1997, and 2005. We compared the incidence of BPD (oxygen requirement at 36 wks' postmenstrual age) in the PE group (infants exposed to PE) with that in the remainder (nonexposed infants). We also contrasted results with comparable reported studies.