Can Aspirin Reduce the Risk of Preeclampsia, Pregnancy Poisoning?

Commonly known as pregnancy poisoning, preeclampsia is a major disease known to cause maternal and newborn deaths and many other health problems. Whether low-dose aspirin throughout pregnancy reduces preeclampsia risk has long been investigated.

What Is Preeclampsia?

It develops when narrowing of arteries supplying the uterus leads to inadequate nourishment of the placenta and fetus. It occurs in approximately %6 of pregnancies, generally after week 20, presenting as high blood pressure, edema (swelling of hands, feet and face) and protein leakage into urine.

Preeclampsia, an important cause of early/preterm birth, is more severe when it appears early in pregnancy. A substantial part of modern obstetric research focuses on detecting it during early pregnancy.

The Study

This multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, published on 28 June 2017 in NEJM, enrolled 1776 pregnant women at high risk of preeclampsia. Half received aspirin daily beginning at weeks 11-14 through week 36 at a dose of 150 mg, while the others received placebo (no active ingredient). The primary aim was to compare rates of delivery with preeclampsia before week 37.

Results

Preeclampsia developed in %1.6 of aspirin recipients and %4.3 of placebo recipients, a statistically significant difference. Thus, in high-risk women, low-dose aspirin reduces the likelihood of preeclampsia more effectively than placebo.