Maternal diseases and congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract in offspring: a cohort study

Background Congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT) are the most common cause of prenatally diagnosed developmental malformation.

This study aimed to assess the relationship between maternal diseases and CAKUT in offspring.

Methods This retrospective study enrolled all pregnant women registered from January 2020 to December 2022 at one medical center.

Medical information on maternal noncommunicable diseases, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, psychiatric disease, epilepsy, cancer, and autoimmune disease was collected.

Based on the records of ultrasound scanning during the third trimester, the diagnosis was classified as isolated urinary tract dilation (UTD) or kidney anomalies.

Multivariate logistic regression was performed to establish models to predict antenatal CAKUT.

Results Among the 19,656 pregnant women, perinatal ultrasound detected suspicious CAKUT in 114 (5.8/1000) fetuses, comprising 89 cases with isolated UTD and 25 cases with kidney anomalies.

The risk of antenatal CAKUT was increased in the fetuses of mothers who experienced gestational diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, neuropsychiatric disease, anemia, ovarian and uterine disorders.

A prediction model for isolated UTD was developed utilizing four confounding factors, namely gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, maternal thyroid dysfunction, and hepatic disease.

Similarly, a separate prediction model for kidney anomalies was established based on four distinct confounding factors, namely maternal thyroid dysfunction, gestational diabetes, disorders of ovarian/uterine, and kidney disease.

Conclusions Isolated UTD and kidney anomalies were associated with different maternal diseases.

The results may inform the clinical management of pregnancy and highlight potential differences in the genesis of various subtypes of CAKUT.

Graphical abstract