“We found SDB [sleep-disordered breathing] to be more common in our control group than in previous studies, confirming that BMI is an important covariate that requires evaluation in future studies exploring the relationship between SDB and HDP [hypertension during pregnancy],” they reported. “SDB may be a mechanism by which obesity and adverse perinatal outcomes are linked, but given the important contribution of obesity to both SDB and HDP, failing to adjust for this covariate will overestimate the strength of association between SDB and HDP.”
However, they acknowledged there was a significant association between moderate to severe sleep-disordered breathing and hypertension in pregnancy. They suggested this might be a means to increase women’s uptake of clinical review with a sleep physician, which was very low in the study despite it being offered to all women.
“Better engagement may be more likely for women with more severe disease if stronger links with adverse pregnancy outcome are demonstrated,” they wrote.
The study was supported by the Austin Medical Research Foundation and the Medical Research Foundation for Women and Babies. One author declared a scholarship from a research funding body, and two declared unrelated research support from private industry. No other conflicts of interest were declared.
SOURCE: Wilson D et al. J Sleep Research. 2018 Oct;27(5):e12656.