[Follow-up study on women suffered from severe toxemia of pregnancy]

We started a special follow-up system for women who had a history of severe toxemic pregnancy in our department since 1975. All medical records from 1956 to 1975 were reviewed and 468 deliveries with such disease were registered at that time. One hundred and ninety five deliveries (186 women) also were added from the prospective point of view until 1985. Among 654 patients, 374 women were available to address. I. The latter 186 women were divided into 7 groups: A1, A2, A3, A4, B1; and B2. The definitions of each group were as follows. A1: primipara with severe toxemia; A2: multipara that had a severe toxemia at the first time and then normal pregnancy (ies); A3: multipara that had a severe toxemia in the first pregnancy and then mild one(s); A4: multipara that repeated severe diseases; A5: multipara that had a severe toxemia and then unclassified type(s) of the disease; B1: multipara that had a normal pregnancy at the first time and then severe toxemia(s); B2: multipara that had a mild toxemia in the first pregnancy and then severe one(s). The percent of each group was 25, 24, 13, 15, 4, 6, and 12% respectively. Those women who had severe toxemia(s) were found to have hypertension, high levels of blood urea nitrogen, hyperhematocritemia, and hyperlipemia from the results of clinical and laboratory data. Consequently, they are a high risk group of atherosclerosis, because hypertension and hyperlipemia are main risk factors of that disease. II. Eighty percent of 374 women who had a history of severe toxemia from 1956 to 1985 was able to be followed up by us until 1987. Those women also were divided into the same groups as described above except A5, and checked up as to hypertension, hyperlipemia, body weight, and so on. The characteristic features were that the group A2 is in a well condition, and that many of group A4 are suffering from various diseases with regard to the remote prognosis. In conclusions, it was suggested that there may be four etiologic causes as to toxemia of pregnancy. The first is a disadaptation during pregnancy, and this seems to consist mainly of pregnancy induced hypertension. The second has various underlying diseases, such as chronic hypertension or renal disease, etc.. The third has a hypertensive trait which is manifested as the pregnancy advances. The fourth is considered to be related to biologic ageing.