Life course trajectories of maternal cardiovascular disease risk factors by obstetric history: a UK cohort study using electronic health records.
| Title: | Life course trajectories of maternal cardiovascular disease risk factors by obstetric history: a UK cohort study using electronic health records. |
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| Authors: | Birnie K; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unitat the , University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. kate.birnie@bristol.ac.uk.; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. kate.birnie@bristol.ac.uk.; Howe LD; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unitat the , University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Jones T; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; The National Institute for Health Research and Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK.; Bristol Medical School, Translational Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Madley-Dowd P; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unitat the , University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Martin FZ; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unitat the , University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Forbes H; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unitat the , University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population HealthandDepartment of Non-Communicable Disease EpidemiologySchool of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.; Redaniel MT; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; The National Institute for Health Research and Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK.; National Cancer Registry Ireland, Cork, Ireland.; Cornish R; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unitat the , University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Magnus MC; Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.; Davies NM; Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.; Department of Statistical Sciences, University College London, London, UK.; K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.; Tilling K; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unitat the , University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Hughes AD; MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at University College London, London, UK.; Department of Population Science and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, UK.; Lawlor DA; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unitat the , University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Fraser A; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unitat the , University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. |
| Source: | BMC medicine [BMC Med] 2025 Feb 14; Vol. 23 (1), pp. 91. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Feb 14. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101190723 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1741-7015 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17417015 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Med Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: [London] : BioMed Central, 2003- |
| MeSH Terms: | Cardiovascular Diseases*/epidemiology ; Heart Disease Risk Factors*; United Kingdom/epidemiology ; Pregnancy Outcome/epidemiology ; Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Adult ; Electronic Health Records ; Cohort Studies ; Young Adult ; Risk Factors ; Body Mass Index |
| Abstract: | Background: Women who experience adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs; gestational hypertension, preeclampsia (PE), gestational diabetes (GD), preterm birth (PTB), small or large for gestational age, miscarriage, multiple miscarriages, stillbirth, and offspring with major congenital anomalies) have increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to compare cardiometabolic health trajectories across the life course between women with and without APOs.; Methods: We studied 187,186 women with a registered pregnancy in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD linked to Hospital Episode Statistics. Fractional polynomial multilevel models were used to compare trajectories of cardiometabolic risk factors (body mass index [BMI], blood pressure [BP], cholesterol, and glucose) between women with and without a history of APOs (individual APOs in any pregnancy and number of APOs). We explored two underlying time axes: (1) time relative to first pregnancy (from 10 years before first pregnancy to 15 years after) and (2) age. Models controlled for age at first pregnancy, residential area deprivation, non-singleton pregnancy, parity, smoking status, ethnicity, and medications use.; Results: Women with a history of PE, gestational hypertension, or GD had higher BMI, BP, and glucose 10 years before first pregnancy compared to women without these APOs. These differences persisted 15 years post-first pregnancy. Women with a history of GD had a steeper post-partum rise in glucose. Women who experienced multiple (3 +) miscarriage, stillbirth, and/or medically indicated PTB had higher BP and BMI before and after pregnancy, with BP trajectories converging 15 years after first pregnancy. Women who experienced multiple APOs had the most adverse measurements across all cardiometabolic risk factors, with more unfavourable mean levels with each additional APO. There was little difference in cardiometabolic trajectories between women with and without a history of 1 or 2 miscarriages or congenital anomalies.; Conclusions: Women with APOs had adverse cardiometabolic profiles before first pregnancy, persisting up to 15 years post-pregnancy. Findings highlight the potential for targeted public health interventions to promote good cardiometabolic health in young adults transitioning from contraceptive use to planning pregnancies. APOs may identify young women who could benefit from monitoring CVD risk factors and interventions to improve cardiometabolic health.; (© 2025. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: CPRD has ethics approval from the Health Research Authority to support research using anonymised patient data ( https://www.cprd.com/safeguarding-patient-data ). Individuals registered with participating GP practices are included in the CPRD dataset unless they specifically opt out. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Adverse pregnancy outcomes; Cardiovascular risk factors; Gestational diabetes; Gestational hypertension; Preeclampsia |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20250213 Date Completed: 20250508 Latest Revision: 20250508 |
| Update Code: | 20260130 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC11827161 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12916-025-03937-y |
| PMID: | 39948598 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
Journal Article