Ntlemo, P.Cronje, TanitaSoma-Pillay, Priya2022-10-182022-10-182021-04Ntlemo, P., Cronje, T. & Soma-Pillay, P. Metabolic syndrome at 6 weeks after delivery in a cohort of pre-eclamptic and normotensive women. South African Medical Journal, vol. 111, no. 4, pp. 350-354, mar. 2021. doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i4.15349.2078- 5135 (online)0256-9574 (print)10.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i4.15349https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/87779BACKGROUND. The association between pre-eclampsia and the subsequent development of metabolic syndrome has not been well documented in low- and middle-income countries. OBJECTIVES. To compare the prevalence of metabolic syndrome at 6 weeks after delivery among women with pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia with that in a normotensive, low-risk control group in an urban South African (SA) setting. METHODS. This was a prospective cohort study at two tertiary-level hospitals and one district-level hospital in Pretoria, SA. Women were recruited after delivery and were followed up 6 weeks later to confirm or exclude the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. RESULTS. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 48/150 women with pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia (32.0%), compared with 33/150 (22.0%) of the control group (p=0.05). CONCLUSIONS. Women who developed pre-eclampsia during pregnancy had an increased chance of metabolic syndrome being diagnosed 6 weeks after delivery. Guidelines should be developed to identify women with cardiometabolic risk, so that interventions may be implemented to modify this risk before and after pregnancy.enThis open-access article is distributed under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.Metabolic syndrome (MetS)Pre-eclampsiaLow- and middle-income countries (LMICs)South Africa (SA)PregnancyArticle