Pregnancy loss (PL) is significantly associated with a greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, according to a recent study published in the European Heart Journal.
The spontaneous loss of a woman's pregnancy before the 20th week can be both physically and emotionally painful. Miscarriage is the most common type of pregnancy loss and often occurs because the foetus isn't developing normally.
A group of researchers conducted a study to explore the association of pregnancy loss (PL) with the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and examine the extent to which this relation is mediated by subsequent metabolic disorders.
The researchers followed 95 465 ever-gravid women participating in the Nurses' Health Study II between 1993 and 2017. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke, according to the occurrence of pregnancy loss (PL). A mediation analysis was conducted to explore the intermediating effect of subsequent type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or hypercholesterolaemia.
The results of the study are as follows:
During 2 205 392 person-years of follow-up (mean 23.10 years), 2225 (2.3%) incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) cases were documented.
After adjusting for confounding factors, pregnancy loss (PL) was associated with an HR of 1.21 for cardiovascular disease (CVD) during follow-up.
A similar association was observed for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke
The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increased with the number of pregnancy loss (PL) for 1 and 1.34 and was greater for pregnancy loss (PL) occurring early in reproductive lifespan for age 24–29 years, and 1.03
Hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, and type 2 diabetes all explained <1.80% of the association between pregnancy loss (PL) and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Thus, the researchers concluded that pregnancy loss (PL) was associated with a greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, independently of subsequent development of metabolic disorders.
Reference:
Pregnancy loss and risk of cardiovascular disease: The Nurses' Health Study II by Yi-Xin Wang et al. published in the European Heart Journal.
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehab737