Risk factors for pregnancy-associated heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Although pregnancy-associated heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is increasing and contributing to maternal morbidity, little is known about its impact on pregnancy. We examined the risk factors for and adverse pregnancy outcomes of HFpEF in pregnant women. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of pregnancy-related hospitalizations from 2009 to 2020 using the perinatal database of seven multicenters. Cases of HFpEF were identified using the International Classification of Diseases and echocardiography findings. The patients were categorized into the HFpEF and control groups. Risk factors were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis to generate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Furthermore, adjusted associations between HFpEF and adverse pregnancy outcomes were determined. Risk scores for the stratification of women at a high risk of HFpEF were calculated using a statistical scoring model. RESULTS: Of the 34,392 women identified, 258 (0.76%) were included in the HFpEF group. In multivariate analysis, HFpEF was significantly associated with old maternal age (OR, 1.04; 95% CI 1.02-1.07), multiple pregnancy (OR, 2.22; 95% CI 1.53-3.23), rheumatic disease (OR, 2.56; 95% CI 1.54-4.26), pregnancy induce hypertension (OR 6.02; 95% CI 3.61-10.05), preeclampsia (OR 24.66; 95% CI 18.61-32.66), eclampsia or superimposed preeclampsia (OR 32.74; 95% CI 21.60-49.64) and transfusion in previous pregnancy (OR 3.89; 95% CI 1.89-8.01). A scoring model to predict HFpEF with those factors achieved an area under the curve of 0.78 at cutoff value of 3. Women with HFpEF also had increased odds ratios of intensive care unit admission during the perinatal period (odds ratio, 5.98; 95% confidence interval, 4.36-8.21) and of postpartum hemorrhage (odds ratio, 5.98; 95% confidence interval, 2.02-3.64). CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancy-associated HFpEF is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. A scoring model may contribute to screening HFpEF using echocardiography and preparing adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Influences of pregravid liver enzyme levels on the development of gestational diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Elevated liver enzymes are associated with later development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to assess the association between prepregnancy liver enzyme levels and subsequent risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Data from a total of 236,109 women who participated in the National Health Screening Examination between 2011 and 2015 was analysed. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus in relation to pregravid liver enzyme levels. Subgroup analyses were performed according to pregravid obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). RESULTS: Approximately 5.7% and 1.1% of women developed gestational diabetes mellitus with and without insulin treatment requirement respectively. Pregravid gamma-glutamyl transferase and alanine aminotransferase levels with greater than or equal to the 4th quartile were associated with significantly increased risks of gestational diabetes mellitus requiring insulin treatment in women with obesity and with MetS, (odds ratios [ORs] with 6.228 and 9.505, respectively, P < .001 for both). In women without obesity and without MetS, the risks of gestational diabetes mellitus requiring insulin treatment were also significant (ORs with 2.837 and 3.029, respectively, P < .001 for both). The elevated pregravid liver enzymes were associated with gestational diabetes mellitus without insulin treatment requirement, but minimally. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The elevated pregravid liver enzyme levels were significantly associated with the subsequent risk of gestational diabetes mellitus, especially gestational diabetes mellitus requiring insulin treatment, not only in women with obesity or MetS, but also in women without obesity or MetS.

Influenza vaccination during pregnancy and influencing factors in Korea: A multicenter questionnaire study of pregnant women and obstetrics and gynecology doctors.

BACKGROUND: Although the World Health Organization and health authorities in most countries recommend that pregnant women receive inactivated influenza virus vaccines, coverage remains low. This study aimed to investigate (1) the proportion of pregnant women who received an influenza vaccination and influencing factors and (2) the proportion of obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) doctors who routinely recommend influenza vaccination to pregnant women and influencing factors. METHODS: Two separate, anonymized questionnaires were developed for physicians and pregnant and postpartum women and were distributed to multicenters and clinics in South Korea. The proportions of women who received influenza vaccination during pregnancy and OBGYN doctors who routinely recommend the influenza vaccine to pregnant women were analyzed. Independent influencing factors for both maternal influenza vaccination and OBGYN doctors' routine recommendations to pregnant women were analyzed using log-binomial regression analysis. RESULTS: The proportion of self-reported influenza vaccination during pregnancy among 522 women was 63.2%. Pregnancy-related independent factors influencing maternal influenza vaccination were "(ever) received information about influenza vaccination during pregnancy" (OR 8.9, 95% CI 4.17-19.01), "received vaccine information about from OBGYN doctors" (OR 11.44, 95% CI 5.46-24.00), "information obtained from other sources" (OR 4.38, 95% CI 2.01-9.55), and "second/third trimester" (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.21-4.82).. Among 372 OBGYN doctors, 76.9% routinely recommended vaccination for pregnant women. Independent factors effecting routine recommendation were "working at a private clinic or hospital" (OR 5.33, 95% CI 2.44-11.65), "awareness of KCDC guidelines" (OR 3.11, 95% CI 1.11-8.73), and "awareness of the 2019 national free influenza vaccination program for pregnant women" (OR 4.88, 95% CI 2.34-10.17). OBGYN doctors most commonly chose 'guidelines proposed by the government or public health (108, 46%) and academic committees (59, 25%), as a factor which expect to affect the future recommendation CONCLUSION: This study showed that providing information about maternal influenza vaccination, especially by OBGYN doctors, is crucial for increasing vaccination coverage in pregnant women. Closer cooperation between the government and OBGYN academic societies to educate OBGYN doctors might enhance routine recommendations.

Prediction of Pregnancy-Associated Hypertension Using a Scoring System: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

This study aimed to develop an early pregnancy risk scoring model for pregnancy-associated hypertension (PAH) based on maternal pre-pregnancy characteristics, such as mean arterial pressure (MAP), pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) or neither. The perinatal databases of seven hospitals from January 2009 to December 2020 were randomly divided into a training set and a test set at a ratio of 70:30. The data of a total pregnant restricted population (women not taking aspirin during pregnancy) were analyzed separately. Three models (model 1, pre-pregnancy factors only; model 2, adding MAP; model 3, adding MAP and PAPP-A) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) risk factors model were compared. A total of 2840 (8.11%) and 1550 (3.3%) women subsequently developed PAH and preterm PAH, respectively. Performances of models 2 and 3 with areas under the curve (AUC) over 0.82 in both total population and restricted population were superior to those of model 1 (with AUCs of 0.75 and 0.748, respectively) and the ACOG risk model (with AUCs of 0.66 and 0.66) for predicting PAH and preterm PAH. The final scoring system with model 2 for predicting PAH and preterm PAH showed moderate to good performance (AUCs of 0.78 and 0.79, respectively) in the test set. "A risk scoring model for PAH and preterm PAH with pre-pregnancy factors and MAP showed moderate to high performances. Further prospective studies for validating this scoring model with biomarkers and uterine artery Doppler or without them might be required".

Current status of pertussis vaccination during pregnancy and influencing factors in Korea.

OBJECTIVE: to investigate pertussis vaccination rates during pregnancy and the routine recommendation rates by maternity healthcare professionals (HCPs), including influencing factors, in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two different questionnaires were developed and conducted anonymously for pregnant or postpartum women and maternity HCPs in 30 multi-centers. Maternal pertussis vaccination rates and maternity HCPs' recommendation rates were analyzed. Independent influencing factors were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis, respectively. RESULTS: The rate of pertussis vaccination during pregnancy among 466 women was 67%. Among 164 multiparous women, 35.5% received pertussis vaccinations during every pregnancy. However, 27.9% among all pregnant women did not receive information about pertussis and vaccination. The independent influencing factors for maternal pertussis vaccination, given as the tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap), were "getting informed" (OR 18.597, 95% CI 11.206-30.861), "informed by OBGYN doctors" (OR 4.426, 95% CI 2.144-9.267), and "metropolitan residence" (OR 3.048, 95% CI 1.419-6.548). Among a total of 373 maternity HCPs, 210 (56.3%) routinely recommended pertussis vaccination, but 21.7% of the total maternity HCP participants did not know the maternal Tdap guideline. The independent factors affecting routine recommendation were the awareness of guideline (OR 9.771, 95% CI 5.227-18.265, p < 0.001) and personal pertussis vaccination within 10 years (OR 3.108, 95% CI 2.377-10.329, p < 0.001). The barriers for routine recommendation were the lack of informational materials (29%), time (25%), and knowledge (23%). CONCLUSION: To increase pertussis vaccination coverage in pregnant women, more education for maternity HCPs, increase the personal pertussis vaccination rates of HCPs, and informational materials, are needed.

Association between pregravid liver enzyme levels and gestational diabetes in twin pregnancies: a secondary analysis of national cohort study.

Multiple pregnancies are prone to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This study investigated the association between pregravid liver enzyme levels and the development of GDM in a twin pregnancy. Women who had the National Health Screening Examination and delivered their twin babies within one year were enrolled. Pregravid liver enzyme levels were divided into high and low level. Risks for developing GDM by high levels of liver enzymes were analyzed, in subgroups by pregravid obesity or metabolic syndrome. Among the 4348 twin pregnancies, 369 women (8.5%) developed GDM not requiring insulin treatment (GDM - IT), and 119 women (2.7%) developed GDM requiring insulin treatment(GDM + IT). High levels of pregravid GGT and ALT were related to risks of GDM + IT not only in women with obesity or metabolic syndrome (odds ratio[OR] 6.348, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.579-15.624 and OR 6.879, 95% CI 2.232-21.204, respectively), but also in women without obesity (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.565-5.946) or without metabolic syndrome (OR 3.338, 95% CI 1.86-5.992), compared to in women with low levels of those. However, there were no significant associations in the pregravid ALT and GGT levels and risks for development of GDM - IT, unrelated to pregravid obesity or metabolic syndrome. Therefore, this study suggests that women with high levels of pregravid GGT and ALT need to recognize their increased risk of GDM + IT, regardless of pregravid obesity or MetS, when they get pregnant twin.

Optimizing the Diagnostic Strategy to Identify Genetic Abnormalities in Miscarriage.

INTRODUCTION: The single most common cause of miscarriage is genetic abnormality. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a prospective cohort study to compare the performance of conventional karyotyping and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) using array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) and single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP-array) to identify genetic abnormalities in miscarriage specimens. METHODS: A total of 63 miscarriage specimens were included. Conventional karyotyping, array-CGH, and SNP-array were performed and the results compared. RESULTS: Genetic abnormalities were detected in 31 cases (49.2%) by at least one testing modality. Single autosomal trisomy was the most common defect (71.0%), followed by polyploidy (16.1%), multiple aneuploidy (9.7%), and monosomy X (3.2%). Mosaicisms were identified in four cases and confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using appropriate probes. SNP-array had a higher detection rate of genetic abnormalities than array-CGH (93.5 vs. 77.4%), and conventional karyotyping had the lowest detection rate (76.0%). SNP-array enabled the detection of all types of genetic abnormalities, including polyploidy. CONCLUSIONS: Although conventional karyotyping and FISH are still needed, SNP-array represents the first choice for miscarriage because the technique showed excellent performance in the detection of genetic abnormalities and minimized the probability of testing failure as well as time, costs, and labor.

Antenatal corticosteroids and outcomes of preterm small-for-gestational-age neonates in a single medical center.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of an antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) in preterm small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonate. METHODS: This study was a retrospective cohort study. We compared women who received ACS with unexposed controls and evaluated neonatal complications among those having a singleton SGA neonate born between 29 and 34 complete gestational weeks. The neonates born after 32 weeks of gestation were divided into subgroups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: A total 82 of the preterm infants met inclusion criteria; 57 (69.5%) were born after 32 weeks of gestation. There were no significant differences in terms of mechanical ventilation, seizure, intracranial hemorrhage, retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, feeding difficulty, and neonatal mortality between infants whose mothers received ACS ant those whose mothers did not (all P>0.05). However, newborns whose mothers received ACS exhibited a significantly increased risk of developing respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.271; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.038-10.305; P=0.043). In case of neonates born beyond 32 weeks of gestation, the risk of neonatal hypoglycemia was significantly higher in women receiving ACS after controlling for confounding factors (aOR, 5.832; 95% CI, 1.096-31.031; P=0.039). CONCLUSION: ACS did not improve neonatal morbidities, in SGA neonates delivered between 29 and 34 gestational weeks. Rather, ACS could increase the risk of RDS. In cases of SGA neonate delivered between 32 and 34 complete gestational weeks, the risk of hypoglycemia was significantly increased. The use of ACS in women with preterm SGA infants needs to be evaluated further, especially after 32 weeks' gestation.