A. Spinillo et al., THE EFFECT OF WORK ACTIVITY IN PREGNANCY ON THE RISK OF SEVERE PREECLAMPSIA, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 35(4), 1995, pp. 380-385
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of type of employment
and level of physical activity at work on the risk of severe preeclam
psia. For this purpose, we carried out a case control study of 160 nul
liparous pregnant women with severe preeclampsia and 320 normotensive
nulliparous controls who received prenatal care from members of one me
dical staff. The type of employment and the level of physical activity
sustained at work were ascertained at birth through an interview base
d on a standard questionnaire. The degree of physical activity at work
was assessed by a 4-level activity score based on type of work, physi
cal intensity, posture at work, and weekly working hours. In logistic
regression analysis, after adjustment for potential confounders (mater
nal age, time of stopping work, prepregnancy body mass index, social s
tatus of the partner, history of previous abortion, and prepregnancy s
moking status), clerical workers had a significantly lower risk of sev
ere preeclampsia than women who were unemployed at the beginning of pr
egnancy (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.30, 0.96). In multivariate analysis, there
was a significant linear trend relating the degree of physical activit
y at work, to the risk of preeclampsia (likelihood chi-square = 9.38,
3 df, p = 0.002). We then restricted the analysis to women who had eve
r worked in pregnancy (n = 339) also adjusting for confounders, and fo
und that clerical workers were still at significantly lower risk of se
vere preeclampsia than women not formally employed (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.0
8, 0.49). In addition, moderate/high physical activity at work was ass
ociated with a 2-fold increase in the risk of severe preeclampsia comp
ared to mild activity (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.11, 3.88). We conclude that m
oderate to high physical activity at work seems to increase the risk o
f severe preeclampsia.