The Effect of Ethnicity on the Development of Small for Gestational Age Infants Associated with Hypertension in Pregnancy

ABSTRACT

The objective of this article is to assess in a hypertensive pregnant population the role of ethnic background on the development of small for gestational age (SGA) infants. A cohort population of 366 pregnant women who developed new hypertension in their pregnancy were interviewed and their ethnic groups defined. We then compared the outcomes of the pregnancies with regard to the development of SGA infants among the various ethnic groups. Preeclamptic women were more likely to deliver a SGA infant than gestational hypertensive women. Women of East Indian descent delivered the highest incidence of SGA infants when they developed preeclampsia (50%) compared to an incidence in the White population of 13.8%. Only the ethnocultural group, mean third-trimester blood pressure and third-trimester hematocrit, significantly correlated with the development of a SGA infant. Chinese and East Indian women who develop preeclampsia are at the highest risk of having a growth-restricted infant.

Keywords

Preeclampsia - ethnocultural groups - hypertension