Abstract
Background
Intrauterine exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) may increase the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. This investigation examined for associations between maternal HDP and febrile seizures (FS) in offspring by the age of three years.
Methods
The present cohort study analyzed data from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, a large national birth cohort. We included mother-child pairs recruited between January 2011 and March 2014. Information regarding maternal HDP, the presence of FS in offspring up to 3 years of age, and potential confounding factors were assessed using written questionnaires administered to mothers.
Results
A total of 77,699 mother-child dyads were analyzed. The prevalence of FS was 8.4% in children without HDP exposure, 10.6% in those exposed to mild HDP, and 10.4% in those with severe HDP exposure. Among children with full-term birth, logistic regression analysis indicated that exposure to mild or severe HDP was significantly associated with a higher incidence of FS (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.27 [1.05–1.53] and 1.27 [0.90–1.78], respectively, P for trend = 0.008), compared with children without HDP exposure.
Conclusion
In children with full-term birth, intrauterine exposure to HDP was significantly associated with FS by the age of three years.
Impact
-
This study revealed a significant association between intrauterine exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and the subsequent development of febrile seizures (FS) in offspring by three years.
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This increased incidence of FS by HDP was independent of preterm birth status.
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This is the first large nationwide birth cohort study showing the impact of intrauterine exposure to HDP on FS in early childhood.
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Data availability
Data are unsuitable for public deposition due to ethical restrictions and legal framework of Japan. It is prohibited by the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (Act No. 57 of 30 May 2003, amendment on 9 September 2015) to publicly deposit the data containing personal information. Ethical Guidelines for Medical and Health Research Involving Human Subjects enforced by the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also restricts the open sharing of the epidemiologic data. All inquiries about access to data should be sent to: jecs-en@nies.go.jp. The person responsible for handling enquiries sent to this e-mail address is Dr. Shoji F. Nakayama, JECS Programme Office, National Institute for Environmental Studies.
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Acknowledgements
We sincerely thank all of the participants in this study and all individuals involved in data collection. The Japan Environment and Children’s Study was funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. The findings and conclusions of this study are solely those of the authors and do not represent the official views of the above government.
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T.N. contributed to the data collection. M.Y., N.M., and T.F. designed the study. M.Y. and N.M. performed statistical analysis and interpretation of data. M.Y. drafted the article. T.F., N.M., T.S., H.T., K.H., T.T., T.N., and the members of the Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. All members reviewed and approved the manuscript.
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Yabe, M., Fukuyama, T., Motoki, N. et al. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy increase the incidence of febrile seizures in offspring. Pediatr Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03057-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03057-y