Prevalence of Chronic HTN During Pregnancy in US: Daily Dose

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Patient Care brings primary care clinicians a lot of medical news every day—it’s easy to miss an important study. The Daily Dose provides a concise summary of one of the website's leading stories you may not have seen.

Last week, we reported on findings from a study published in Hypertension that examined the prevalence and treatment of chronic hypertension (HTN) during pregnancy in the US.

The study

Researchers analyzed commercial insurance claims from 2007 to 2021 linked to 1.9 million pregnancies. They assessed the prevalence of chronic HTN during pregnancy and oral antihypertensive medication use over time. Then, investigators performed interrupted time series analyses to examine changes in these outcomes.

The findings

• Prevalence of chronic HTN during pregnancy increased from 1.8% to 3.7% between 2008 and 2021.

• Antihypertensive medication use among pregnant women with chronic HTN remained relatively stable (57%-60%) during the study period.

• The proportion of pregnant persons with chronic HTN who received methyldopa or hydrochlorothiazide decreased (from 29% to 2% and from 11% to 5%, respectively), while the proportion of those who received labetalol or nifedipine increased (from 19% to 42% and from 9% to 17%, respectively).

Authors' comment

"Since nearly 1 in 3 individuals with chronic hypertension may face a pregnancy complication, the prevention and control of hypertension should be among the highest priorities for improving maternal health."

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