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Body composition of patients with hypertensive complications during pregnancy
Margarita Levario-Carrillo1, Martha Avitia, Edith Tufiño-Olivares
1Unidad de Investigación Médica en Epidemiología Clínica, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Chihuahua, Mexico. margarita.levario@imss.gob.mx
Objective:
To determine the body composition of women with the diagnoses of gestational hypertension or preeclampsia.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study, including four groups of patients who were in the third trimester: those with an uncomplicated pregnancy (n = 110), those with a diagnosis of gestational hypertension (n = 38), those with mild preeclampsia (n = 8), and those with severe preeclampsia (n = 11). Their fat mass, fat-free mass, and total body water were estimated by bioelectric impedance.
Results:
The fat mass was 20 +/- 7 kg in the control group and 26 +/- 13 kg in the group with gestational hypertension (p < 0.05). The total body water was 36 +/- 6 L in the control group, 50 +/- 10 L in the patients with gestational hypertension, 52 +/- 10 L in those with mild preeclampsia, and 48 +/- 9 L in those with severe preeclampsia (p < 0.05).
Conclusion:
The results suggest that maternal body composition shows significant differences in patients with hypertensive complications during pregnancy. These data may be related to a possible inadequate distribution of the volume of water as a result of alterations in capillary permeability.
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