BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

• Janssen et al. (BJOG, 2022) investigated whether spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB), is associated with an increased risk of maternal hypertension later in life

METHODS:

• Retrospective case–control study
• Population
  • Women with a history of pregnancy
  • Exclusion: Those with other complications associated with cardiovascular disease 
• Exposures
  • Spontaneous preterm birth between 22w6d and 36w6d weeks
  • Term birth
• Study design
  • Both groups underwent cardiovascular risk assessment 9 to 16 years after pregnancy
  • Adjustments: Age | BMI | | Level of education | Being white and smoking status
  • Subgroup analyses were performed based upon the severity of spontaneous preterm birth
• Primary outcome
  • Prevalence of hypertension later in life

RESULTS:

• SPTB: 350 women | Term birth: 166 women
• A history of SPTB was significantly associated with hypertension later in life
  • Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.60 (95% CI, 1.04 to 2.46); P=0.033
• Later diagnosis of abdominal obesity was more prevalent in those with a history of spontaneous preterm birth
  • SPTB: 46.6%Term birth: 32.5%
  • P=0.003
• Trend more pronounced with more severe preterm birth (P=0.002)

CONCLUSION:

• Compared to women who gave birth at term, women with a history of spontaneous preterm birth experienced higher rates of hypertension 9 to 16 years following pregnancy
• The authors state

This is the first study that has investigated a direct association between SPTB and maternal hypertension by excluding all women with complications that are already known to be associated with CVD

Future research is necessary to determine whether women with a history of SPTB should be regarded as high risk in cardiovascular screening programmes 

Learn More – Primary Sources:

The association between spontaneous preterm birth and maternal hypertension in the fifth decade of life: a retrospective case–control study

Related ObG Topics: