Previous pre‐eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus and the risk of cardiovascular disease: A nested case–control study in Sweden

• Published in: BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology 2023-09, Vol.130 (10), p.1209-1216
• Main Authors: Hildén, Karin, Magnuson, Anders, Montgomery, Scott, Schwarcz, Erik, Hanson, Ulf, Simmons, David, Backman, Helena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Birth; Body mass index; Body weight; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Diabetes mellitus; Eclampsia; Gestational diabetes; hypertension; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; morbidity; mortality; Overweight; Population studies; pre-eclampsia; Preeclampsia; Pregnancy; Pregnancy complications; Risk factors; smoking; Womens health
• ISSN: 1470-0328; 1471-0528; 1471-0528
• DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.17454

Objective Pre‐eclampsia and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are two common pregnancy complications that affect birth outcomes and are associated with a long‐term risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aims of this study were to investigate if the pre‐eclampsia association with CVD is independent of GDM and modified by body mass index (BMI) or GDM. Design Case–control study. Setting Sweden. Population Cases were women with a first CVD event between 1991 and 2008 and a previous pregnancy who were matched with controls without CVD (1:5) by year of birth, age and region of birth. Methods Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations of GDM, pre‐eclampsia and maternal BMI with CVD adjusted for potential confounders and effect modifications with interaction tests. Main outcome measures CVD. Results There were 2639 cases and 13 310 controls with complete data. Pre‐eclampsia and GDM were independent risk factors for CVD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.59, 95% CI 2.12–3.17 and aOR 1.47, 95% CI 1.04–2.09, respectively). After stratifying by maternal BMI, the adjusted association of pre‐eclampsia with CVD did not differ notably between BMI groups: normal weight (aOR 2.65, 95% CI 1.90–3.69), overweight (aOR 2.67, 95% CI 1.52–4.68) and obesity (aOR 3.03, 95% CI 0.74–12.4). Similar findings were seen when stratifying on GDM/non‐GDM. Conclusions Pre‐eclampsia and GDM are independent risk factors for later CVD and having both during pregnancy is a major risk factor for later CVD. The association between pre‐eclampsia and CVD is not modified by BMI. Effective CVD preventive programs for high‐risk women are urgently needed in order to improve women's long‐term health.