Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and elevated blood pressure in the offspring: A systematical review and meta-analysis protocol

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy (HDP), including gestational hypertension, preeclampsia (PE), and chronic hypertension, affect approximately 10% of pregnancies worldwide. PE was associated with elevated blood pressure (BP) in the offspring confirmed by previous literature. No previous systematic review has investigated the associations between the subtypes of HDP and BP in offspring. Therefore, from the published literature, the present systematic review and meta-analysis aims to reach to a clear consensus on this topic. METHODS: The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions was used to structure our methodological approach, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses Protocols guidelines to this protocol. We will include cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies, in which HDP or its subtypes were reported and BP in the offspring was the outcome of interest. A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane library, and Web of Science will be conducted according to a specific search strategy. The titles and abstracts of all literature will be reviewed independently by 2 authors. A standardized data collection form will be used for data extraction. The overall pooled estimates will be calculated by meta-analysis in Revman 5.3 based on an inverse variance method. According to the heterogeneity by the I(2), a random-effect model or a fixed-effect model will be chosen to pool data. Risk of bias and quality of the studies will be assessed by a suitable bias classification tool. RESULTS: This study will provide high-quality evidence of the effects in offspring BP, which were influenced by different subtypes of HDP. CONCLUSION: This systematic review will infer a conclusion on the associations between different subtypes of HDP and BP in offspring. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Due to the data come from the published study, the present systematic review and meta-analysis does not require ethics approval. Findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. REGISTRATION: Supporting data can be found at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) website, with registration number CRD 42018110872.