Maternal obesity and severe pre-eclampsia among immigrant women: a mediation analysis
Ayesha Siddiqui, Catherine Deneux‐Tharaux, Dominique Luton, Thomas Schmitz, Laurent Mandelbrot, Candice Estellat, Elizabeth A. Howell, Babak Khoshnood, Nathalie Bertille, Élie Azria
Abstract
Abstract We investigated the extent to which pre-pregnancy obesity mediates the association between maternal place of birth and severe pre-eclampsia in the PreCARE cohort of pregnant women in Paris (n = 9,579). Adjusted path analysis logistic regression models were used to assess the role of pre-pregnancy obesity as a mediator in the association between maternal place of birth and the development of severe pre-eclampsia. We calculated 1. adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the total exposure-outcome association and for the direct and indirect/obesity-mediated components 2. the indirect/obesity-mediated effect. Ninety-five (0.99%) women developed severe pre-eclampsia, 47.6% were non-European immigrants, 16.3% were born in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 12.6% were obese (BMI > = 30 kg/m 2 ). Women experiencing severe pre-eclampsia were more likely to be from Sub-Saharan Africa (p = 0.023) and be obese (p = 0.048). Mothers from Sub-Saharan Africa had an increased risk of severe pre-eclampsia compared to European-born mothers (aOR 2.53, 95% CI 1.39–4.58) and the obesity-mediated indirect effect was 18% of the total risk (aOR 1.18, 95%CI 1.03–1.35). In conclusion, Sub-Saharan African immigrant women have a two-fold higher risk of developing severe pre-eclampsia as compared to European-born women, one-fifth of which is mediated by pre-pregnancy obesity. Our results quantify the potential benefit of decreasing obesity among at-risk women.