Pre-eclampsia link with kidney failure

The research team, lead by Bjorn Vikse at the University of Bergen, found that the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) was 4.7 times higher with the first pregnancy, 6.4 times higher if it developed during each of two pregnancies, and 15.5 greater if there had been at least three pregnancies and pre-eclampsia appeared in two or three of them.

However, the researchers pointed out that the absolute risk of ESRD in women who have had pre-eclampsia is actually low. The association was stronger if the pre-eclamptic pregnancy resulted in a low birth-weight or premature birth.