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OBJECTIVE. Eclampsia has been found to be a strong risk factor for epilepsy in the offspring, but it is unclear whether the risk also applies to the preceding condition, preeclampsia. METHODS. We conducted a population-based cohort study of 1 537 860 singletons born in Denmark (1978-2004). Information on preeclampsia (mild, severe, and unspecified), eclampsia, and epilepsy was obtained from the Danish National Hospital Register. Information on gestational age, birth weight, and Apgar score was obtained from the Danish Medical Birth Registry. We used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the incidence rate ratio of epilepsy for children who were exposed to preeclampsia or eclampsia in prenatal life. RESULTS. We identified 45 288 (2.9%) children who were exposed to preeclampsia (34 823 to mild, 7043 to severe, and 3422 to unspecified preeclampsia) and 654 (0.04%) to eclampsia during their prenatal life. We identified 20 260 people who received a diagnosis of epilepsy during up to 27 years of follow-up in the entire cohort. Prenatal exposure to preeclampsia was associated with an increased risk for epilepsy among children with a gestational age at birth of at least 37 weeks. For mild preeclampsia, the incidence rate ratios were 1.16 among children born at term and 1.68 for children born postterm; for severe preeclampsia, the incidence rate ratios were 1.41 among children born at term and 2.57 among children born postterm. No associations between preeclampsia and epilepsy were found among children who were born preterm. Eclampsia was associated with epilepsy with an incidence rate ratio of 1.29 for children born at term and 5.03 for children born postterm. CONCLUSIONS. Prenatal exposure to both preeclampsia and eclampsia was associated with an increased risk of epilepsy in children born after 37 weeks of gestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity, as well as with other adverse conditions later in life. Since the birth weight-specific mortality of a second child depends on the birth weight of an older sibling, a failure to achieve the biologically intended size appears to increase the risk of adverse outcome even in babies who are not classified as small for gestation. In this study, we aimed at quantifying the risk of neonatal death as a function of a baby's failure to fulfil its biologic growth potential across the whole distribution of birth weight. Methods: We predicted the birth weight of 411,957 second babies born in Denmark (1979-2002), given the birth weight of the first, and examined how the ratio of achieved birth weight to predicted birth weight performed in predicting neonatal mortality. Results: For any achieved birth weight category, the risk of neonatal death increased with decreasing birth weight ratio. However, the risk of neonatal death increased with decreasing birth weight, even among babies who achieved their predicted birth weight. Conclusion: While a low achieved birth weight was a stronger predictor of mortality, a failure to achieve the predicted birth weight was associated with increased mortality at virtually all birth weights. Use of family data may allow identification of children at risk of adverse health outcomes, especially among babies with apparently "normal" growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]