Yearly hypertension screening in women with a history of pre-eclampsia: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

BACKGROUND: Women with a history of preeclampsia are at increased risk for future hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD); until now it is not clear whether preventive measures are needed. METHODS: A decision-analytic Markov model was constructed to evaluate healthcare costs and effects of screening and treatment (100 % compliance) for hypertension post preeclampsia based on the available literature. Cardiovascular events and CVD mortality were defined as health states. Outcomes were measured in absolute costs, events, life-years and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Sensitivity and threshold analyses were performed to address uncertainty. RESULTS: Over a 20-year time horizon, events occurred in 7.2 % of the population after screening, and in 8.5 % of the population without screening. QALYs increased from 16.37 (no screening strategy) to 16.40 (screening strategy), an increment of 0.03 (95 % CI 0.01;0.05) QALYs. Total expected costs were € 8016 in the screening strategy, and € 9087 in the none screening strategy (expected saving of € 1071 (95 % CI - 3146;-87) per person). CONCLUSION: Annual hypertension screening and treatment in women with a history of preeclampsia may save costs, for at least a similar quality of life and survival due to prevented CVD compared with standard care.

Serum AMH levels in women with a history of preeclampsia suggest a role for vascular factors in ovarian aging.

CONTEXT: The association between early menopause and vascular disease as a possible causative factor has recently received attention. Preeclampsia (PE) is associated with future cardiovascular risk factors, and this premature vascular aging potentially modifies the ovarian aging process. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess whether women with a history of PE have lower anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels than women with normotensive pregnancies. DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study. SETTING: The study was conducted in a tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Clinical data and blood samples of participants in the Preeclampsia Risk EValuation in FEMales study were used (336 women with a history of PE and 329 women after a normotensive pregnancy). INTERVENTIONS: There were no interventions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The relative decrease in AMH levels was assessed after a median follow-up of 10.5 years. RESULTS: The mean AMH level was 2.00 ± 1.87 µg/L in the PE group compared with 2.26 ± 2.56 µg/L in the reference group. Linear regression analysis with censoring for undetectable AMH levels, adjusted for age, smoking, and hormonal contraceptive use, showed a relative reduction in AMH levels of 20.9% at any age (fold change 0.79, 95% confidence interval, 0.67-0.94). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that women with a history of PE have significantly lower AMH levels than women with normotensive pregnancies. Calculations based on a reference population indicate advancement of reproductive age of approximately 1.5 years. Because PE is considered a manifestation of impaired vascular health, these results support the hypothesis that compromised vascular health could act as a causative mechanism in early ovarian aging.

Longitudinal analysis of cardiovascular risk parameters in women with a history of hypertensive pregnancy disorders: the Doetinchem Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: Women with hypertensive pregnancy disorders (HPD) are at increased risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease later in life; however, it is not known how cardiovascular risk develops throughout life. We evaluated the longitudinal trends in cardiovascular risk factors in women after hypertensive pregnancy disorders compared with women with normotensive pregnancies. DESIGN AND POPULATION: All women of the Doetinchem Cohort Study (1987-91), a population-based cohort study, were included. METHODS: Women were examined (questionnaires and physical examination) four times at 5-year intervals. History of HPD was assessed from questionnaires. We compared 5-year changes in risk factors between women with and without HPD, by analysing longitudinal trends using generalised estimating equation analysis to estimate the effects of HPD and mean age, adjusting for treatment, body mass index (BMI), smoking and socio-economic status. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change over time in traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), BMI, total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol for women with and without a history of HPD. RESULTS: A total of 2703 women with normotensive pregnancies (mean age 40.5 years, SD 10.4) and 689 women with a history of HPD (mean age 38.4 years, SD 9.5) were included. Compared with normotensive women, in women with a history of HPD, SBP was 2.8 mmHg higher (95% CI 1.7-3.9), DBP was 2.3 mmHg higher (95% CI 1.6-3.0) and BMI was 0.7 kg/m(2) higher (95% CI 0.4-1.1). Total cholesterol (-0.05; 95% CI -0.1 to 0.0) and HDL cholesterol (0.02; 95% CI -0.0 to 0.1) were similar in both groups. No difference in annual change in blood pressure or in the other risk factors was observed between women with and without a history of HPD. CONCLUSION: Women with a history of HPD have higher levels of SBP, DBP and BMI compared with normotensive women, but the increase with ageing is similar in both groups.