Table 2.
Many studies have identified a much greater prevalence of infectious agents in the blood or urine of these exhibiting PE than in matched controls.
| Microbes | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia pneumoniae | IgG seroprevalence and gDNA associated with PE (p < 0.0001) | (349) |
| IgG (but not IgA or IgM) associated with PE, OR = 3.1 | (350) | |
| Significantly greater numbers with PE, and reversion under antichlamydial treatment | (351) | |
| Chlamydia trachomatis | Increased risk of PE, OR = 7.2 or 1.6 based on serology | (352, 353) |
| Cytomegalovirus | RR for PE 1.5 if infected with CMV | (354) [see also Xie et al. (355)] |
| Helicobacter pylori | Seropositivity or DNA. OR = 2.7 or 26 if CagA seropositivity | (343) and editorial (356) |
| IgG seropositivity 54% PE vs. 21% controls | (357) | |
| Anti-CagA antibodies cross-react with trophoblasts and could inhibit placentation | (358) | |
| 2.8× greater seropositivity in PE group | (359) | |
| OR = 2.86 for seropositivity in PE, correlated with high malondialdehyde levels | (360) | |
| Wide-ranging review of many studies showing PE more prevalent after Hp infection | (361) | |
| Seropositivity PE:control = 84:32% (p < 0.001) | (362) | |
| OR for seropositivity 1.83 (p < 0.001) | (363) | |
| Seropositivity PE:control 86:43% (p < 0.001) | (364) | |
| Human papillomavirus | High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) presence implies an OR of 2.18 for PE | (365) |
| Meta-analyses | Incidence of PE 19% with asymptomatic bacteriuria vs. 3% (primigravid) or 6% (multigravid) controls (p < 0.005) | (366) |
| UTI more than twice as likely in severe preeclamptics than in controls | (367) | |
| OR of 1.6 for PE if UTI present | (368) | |
| Increased risk of PE OR 1.57 for UTI, 1.76 for periodontal disease | (53) | |
| Early application of antibiotics in infection reduced PE by 52% | (330) | |
| Any overt infection led to an RR of 2 for PE | (54) | |
| UTI has OR of 3.2 for PE; OR = 4.3 if in third trimester | (369) | |
| UTI has OR of 1.3 for mild/moderate and 1.8 for severe PE | (370) | |
| Increased risk of PE with UTI (OR 1.22) or antibiotic prescription (OR 1.28) | (371) | |
| OR of 6.8 for symptomatic bacteriuria in PE vs. controls | (372) | |
| OR 1.3–1.8 of mild or severe PE if exposed to UTI | (373) | |
| OR 1.4 for PE following UTI | (374) | |
| OR 1.3 for PE after UTI | (375) | |
| Meta-analyses showing associations between PD and PE | (376–378) | |
| Plasmodium falciparum (malaria) | Indications that infection with malaria is associated with PE | (379) |
| 1.5 RR for PE if malarial | (380) | |
| Seasonality: 5.4-fold increase in eclampsia during malaria season | (381) | |
| Preeclampsia was significantly associated with malaria infection during pregnancy (p < 0.03) and 69.7% of cases of preeclampsia with infected placenta might be attributable to malaria infection | (382) |