Influence of hypertensive disorders and cigarette smoking on placental abruption and uterine bleeding during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy on the subsequent risk of placental abruption and uterine bleeding of unknown aetiology, and to examine the combined effects of hypertensive disorders and cigarette smoking during pregnancy on the risk of uteroplacental bleeding disorders.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING: Data for this study were derived from the Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal database, Canada, comprising of women who were delivered in the province between 1980 and 1993.

POPULATION: 120,666 pregnancies resulting in singleton births, of which 13,360 pregnancies were complicated by pre-eclampsia and/or chronic hypertension.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Risks and relative risks of placental abruption and uterine bleeding of unknown aetiology in pregnancies complicated by chronic hypertension, mild and severe pre-eclampsia, and chronic hypertension with superimposed pre-eclampsia, each compared with normotensive patients. Adjusted relative risks were obtained through the fit of multivariable logistic regression models based on the method of generalised estimating equations.

RESULTS: Chronically hypertensive women had no increased risk of abruption (RR 1.4; 95% CI 0.5-3.6), while women whose pregnancies were complicated by severe pre-eclampsia (RR 3.8; 95% CI 2.1-6.9), and chronic hypertension with superimposed pre-eclampsia (RR 2.8; 95% CI 1.2-6.3) showed strong associations with placental abruption. However, none of the hypertensive disorders were associated with uterine bleeding of unknown aetiology. The association between placental abruption and hypertensive disorders varied by parity. Parous women with chronic hypertension and superimposed pre-eclampsia were at greater risk of placental abruption (aRR 3.8; 95% CI 1.9-7.8) than nulliparous women with chronic hypertension and superimposed pre-eclampsia (aRR 1.6; 95% CI 0.5-4.9). The joint effects of smoking and hypertension had a greater effect on the risk of placental abruption than would have been expected based on their individual effects.

CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of association between placental abruption and hypertension varied in relation to the specific type of hypertensive disorder. However, uterine bleeding of unknown aetiology was not associated with hypertension. Findings from this study suggest that placental abruption and uterine bleeding of unknown origin are aetiologically distinct obstetric complications with respect to hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.