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Capability: Community Engagement and Health Education

This Sequoia Foundation study set out to develop mid-trimester screening algorithms for early onset preeclampsia. The study used a large population-based nested case-control design to develop the screening algorithm for early-onset preeclampsia, defined as hypertension and proteinuria criteria with onset prior to 32 weeks gestation in non-Hispanic Whites and Mexican Hispanic Whites and prior to 34 weeks in African-Americans. It included 258 cases based on hospital records identified from a seven-year cohort of 137,716 singleton live births born in five Southern California counties during January 2000 through April 2007. Lab results were linked to hospital records, prenatal screening, and birth certificate data for analysis. This is the first study to investigate PIGF, sVEGFR-1, and sEng in prediction of early-onset preeclampsia in African-Americans and to compare racial-ethnic differences in these factors. More importantly, it is also the first study to develop a feasible screening algorithm for prenatal screening programs and clinics/hospitals.