Body Mass Index, Smoking and Hypertensive Disorders during Pregnancy: A Population Based Case-Control Study

While obesity is an indicated risk factor for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, smoking during pregnancy has been shown to be inversely associated with the development of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined effects of high body mass index and smoking on hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. This was a case-control study based on national registers, nested within all pregnancies in Iceland 1989–2004, resulting in birth at the Landspitali University Hospital. Cases (n = 500) were matched 1:2 with women without a hypertensive diagnosis who gave birth in the same year. Body mass index (kg/m2) was based on height and weight at 10–15 weeks of pregnancy. We used logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals as measures of association, adjusting for potential confounders and tested for additive and multiplicative interactions of body mass index and smoking. Women’s body mass index during early pregnancy was positively associated with each hypertensive outcome. Compared with normal weight women, the multivariable adjusted odds ratio for any hypertensive disorder was 1.8 (95% confidence interval, 1.3–2.3) for overweight women and 3.1 (95% confidence interval, 2.2–4.3) for obese women. The odds ratio for any hypertensive disorder with obesity was 3.9 (95% confidence interval 1.8–8.6) among smokers and 3.0 (95% confidence interval 2.1–4.3) among non-smokers. The effect estimates for hypertensive disorders with high body mass index appeared more pronounced among smokers than non-smokers, although the observed difference was not statistically significant. Our findings may help elucidate the complicated interplay of these lifestyle-related factors with the hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.