Study links soaring preeclampsia rates in El Paso to socioeconomic stress

A medical-anthropology team surveyed 176 low-income Latina pregnant people receiving public prenatal care in El Paso, Texas, and recorded a preeclampsia prevalence of nearly one-quarter, compared with the 2021 U.S. average of about eight percent. The researchers attribute the spike to a convergence of socioeconomic insecurity, food scarcity, exposure to environmental toxins, COVID-19 infection, extreme heat and chronic stress stemming from immigration enforcement and racial discrimination.

Personal accounts from participants—Lupe, Brisa, an undocumented migrant living near the border wall, and Janeth, a U.S. citizen with detained family members—describe anxiety-induced swelling and depression that preceded their diagnoses. While placental abnormalities initiate the disease, the study emphasizes that social conditions amplify physiological pathways leading to severe outcomes such as organ damage or eclampsia. The authors caution that rising preeclampsia rates in marginalized communities signal broader public-health failures and call for targeted healthcare and policy responses.