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Cardiovascular risk factors before and during pregnancy: Does pregnancy unmask or initiate risk?

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-21, 04:07 authored by Harville, EW, Crook, CE, Bazzano, LA, Woo, JG, Burns, TL, Raitakari, O, Urbina, EM, Alison VennAlison Venn, Jacobs, DR, Steinberger, J, Sinaiko, A, Terry DwyerTerry Dwyer, Juonala, M

Objectives: To understand if pregnancy unmasks previously silent cardiovascular (CV) adverse factors, or initiates lasting injury.

Methods: Pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy CV risk factors (blood pressure, fasting lipids, and glucose) from 296 women belonging to studies in the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort (i3C) Consortium, a group of studies assessing the relationship between child and adolescent CV risk factors and adult outcomes, were used. Correlation coefficients between the pre- and during pregnancy measures were calculated, and the mean difference between the measures was modeled with adjustment for age, body mass index, race, smoking, and study.

Results: Measures were strongly correlated at pre- and during-pregnancy visits (p < 0.01), with r of between 0.30 and 0.55. In most cases, the difference between pre-pregnancy and during-pregnancy did not differ significantly from 0 after adjustment for confounders. Stratification by gestational age indicated stronger correlations with measurements obtained during the first and second trimesters than the third. The correlation did not differ by the time elapsed between the pre-pregnancy and pregnancy visits.

Conclusions: Pre- and during-pregnancy CV risk factors are moderately well correlated. This may indicate that susceptible women enter pregnancy with higher risk rather than pregnancy inducing new vascular or metabolic effects.

History

Publication title

Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research

Volume

47

Issue

11

Pagination

3849-3856

ISSN

1341-8076

Department/School

Menzies Institute for Medical Research

Publisher

University of Tokyo Press

Place of publication

Australia

Rights statement

© 2021 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Determinants of health

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