Publication:

The relationship between maternal blood group and preeclampsia

Background Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy specific, multisystem,  hypertensive disorder  characterized  by new onset  hypertension  and proteinuria  after  20 weeks of  gestation  and  remission  of signs after delivery, which is the  leading cause of maternal,  fetal  and  neonatal mortality  and  morbidity. Despite extensive research, the etiology and    pathogenesis of Pre-eclampsia remain obscure and poorly understood. ABO blood groups are known to be associated with many disorders. In this study we have tried to know the relationship between maternal blood group and preeclampsia.

Methods It is a cross-sectional study. 100 pregnant women with preeclampsia and 100 women with normal pregnancy were selected. Rh negative females or women with any other medical and surgical complication were excluded from the study. Using blood group O as the reference group, the relation between maternal blood group and preeclampsia was estimated using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals from logistic regression models.

Results When compared with blood group O, women of blood group AB have an increased risk of preeclampsia.

Conclusions The present study indicates that AB blood group have the highest risk of developing preeclampsia. AB blood group is associated with an increased risk of thrombotic events this may be the cause of increased incidence of PIH in this group. Thus attention should be given to the AB blood group pregnant women in order to prevent the PIH.