The risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension: Black and White differences in a military population

The relationship between race and risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension was investigated in a cohort of active-duty military women who gave birth during the period 1987 through 1989. Cases were identified through hospital discharge diagnoses and included transient gestational hypertension, pre- eclampsia, eclampsia, and unspecified hypertension complicating pregnancy. Multivariate analysis showed nulliparous Black women to be at a slightly increased risk for all pregnancy-induced hypertension (risk ratio [RR] = 1.2) and for pre-eclampsia (RR = 1.3) compared with nulliparous White women. Black parous women were found to have a slightly reduced risk of all pregnancy- induced hypertension (RR = 0.77) and pre-eclampsia (RR = 0.38) compared with White parous women.