A Role for Adverse Childhood Experiences and Depression in Preeclampsia

Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a measure of childhood adversity and are associated with life-long morbidity. The impacts of ACEs on peripartum health including preeclampsia, a common and dangerous hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, remain unclear, however. Therefore, we aimed to determine ACE association with peripartum psychiatric health and prevalence of preeclampsia using a case-control design.

Methods: Clinical data were aggregated and validated using a large, intergenerational knowledgebase developed at our institution. Depression symptoms were measured by standard clinical screeners: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). ACEs were assessed via survey. Scores were compared between participants with ( = 32) and without ( = 46) prior preeclampsia.

Results: Participants with ACE scores ≥4 had significantly greater odds of preeclampsia than those with scores ≤ 3 (adjusted odds ratio = 6.71, 95% confidence interval:1.13-40.00; = 0.037). Subsequent speculative analyses revealed that increased odds of preeclampsia may be driven by increased childhood abuse and neglect dimensions of the ACE score. PHQ-9 scores (3.73 vs. 1.86, = 0.03), EPDS scores (6.38 vs. 3.71, = 0.01), and the incidence of depression (37.5% vs. 23.9%, = 0.05) were significantly higher in participants with a history of preeclampsia versus controls.

Conclusions: Childhood sets the stage for life-long health. Our findings suggest that ACEs may be a risk factor for preeclampsia and depression, uniting the developmental origins of psychiatric and obstetric risk.