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  • Population Study Article
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Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy increase the incidence of febrile seizures in offspring

Pediatric Research (2024)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Intrauterine exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) may increase the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. This investigation examined for associations between maternal HDP and febrile seizures (FS) in offspring by the age of three years.

Methods

The present cohort study analyzed data from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, a large national birth cohort. We included mother-child pairs recruited between January 2011 and March 2014. Information regarding maternal HDP, the presence of FS in offspring up to 3 years of age, and potential confounding factors were assessed using written questionnaires administered to mothers.

Results

A total of 77,699 mother-child dyads were analyzed. The prevalence of FS was 8.4% in children without HDP exposure, 10.6% in those exposed to mild HDP, and 10.4% in those with severe HDP exposure. Among children with full-term birth, logistic regression analysis indicated that exposure to mild or severe HDP was significantly associated with a higher incidence of FS (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.27 [1.05–1.53] and 1.27 [0.90–1.78], respectively, P for trend = 0.008), compared with children without HDP exposure.

Conclusion

In children with full-term birth, intrauterine exposure to HDP was significantly associated with FS by the age of three years.

Impact

  • This study revealed a significant association between intrauterine exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and the subsequent development of febrile seizures (FS) in offspring by three years.

  • This increased incidence of FS by HDP was independent of preterm birth status.

  • This is the first large nationwide birth cohort study showing the impact of intrauterine exposure to HDP on FS in early childhood.

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Data availability

Data are unsuitable for public deposition due to ethical restrictions and legal framework of Japan. It is prohibited by the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (Act No. 57 of 30 May 2003, amendment on 9 September 2015) to publicly deposit the data containing personal information. Ethical Guidelines for Medical and Health Research Involving Human Subjects enforced by the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also restricts the open sharing of the epidemiologic data. All inquiries about access to data should be sent to: jecs-en@nies.go.jp. The person responsible for handling enquiries sent to this e-mail address is Dr. Shoji F. Nakayama, JECS Programme Office, National Institute for Environmental Studies.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank all of the participants in this study and all individuals involved in data collection. The Japan Environment and Children’s Study was funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. The findings and conclusions of this study are solely those of the authors and do not represent the official views of the above government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan

    Manami Yabe, Tetsuhiro Fukuyama & Takumi Shibazaki

  2. Center for Perinatal, Pediatric, and Environmental Epidemiology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan

    Noriko Motoki, Teruomi Tsukahara & Tetsuo Nomiyama

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan

    Hirokazu Toubou, Kohei Hasegawa, Teruomi Tsukahara & Tetsuo Nomiyama

  4. Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

    Michihiro Kamijima

  5. National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Shin Yamazaki

  6. National Center for Child Health and Development, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Yukihiro Ohya

  7. Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

    Reiko Kishi

  8. Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

    Nobuo Yaegashi

  9. Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan

    Koichi Hashimoto

  10. Chiba University, Chiba, Chiba, Japan

    Chisato Mori

  11. Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

    Shuichi Ito

  12. University of Yamanashi, Chuo, Yamanashi, Japan

    Zentaro Yamagata

  13. University of Toyama, Toyama, Toyama, Japan

    Hidekuni Inadera

  14. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

    Takeo Nakayama

  15. Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan

    Tomotaka Sobue

  16. Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan

    Masayuki Shima

  17. Tottori University, Yonago, Tottori, Japan

    Seiji Kageyama

  18. Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan

    Narufumi Suganuma

  19. Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan

    Shoichi Ohga

  20. Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan

    Takahiko Katoh

Authors
  1. Manami Yabe
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  2. Tetsuhiro Fukuyama
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  6. Takumi Shibazaki
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  8. Tetsuo Nomiyama
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Consortia

the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS) Group

  • Michihiro Kamijima
  • , Shin Yamazaki
  • , Yukihiro Ohya
  • , Reiko Kishi
  • , Nobuo Yaegashi
  • , Koichi Hashimoto
  • , Chisato Mori
  • , Shuichi Ito
  • , Zentaro Yamagata
  • , Hidekuni Inadera
  • , Takeo Nakayama
  • , Tomotaka Sobue
  • , Masayuki Shima
  • , Seiji Kageyama
  • , Narufumi Suganuma
  • , Shoichi Ohga
  •  & Takahiko Katoh

Contributions

T.N. contributed to the data collection. M.Y., N.M., and T.F. designed the study. M.Y. and N.M. performed statistical analysis and interpretation of data. M.Y. drafted the article. T.F., N.M., T.S., H.T., K.H., T.T., T.N., and the members of the Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. All members reviewed and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tetsuhiro Fukuyama.

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Yabe, M., Fukuyama, T., Motoki, N. et al. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy increase the incidence of febrile seizures in offspring. Pediatr Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03057-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03057-y

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