Preterm and small for gestational age linked to future maternal cardiovascular events!

Preterm and small for gestational age linked to future maternal cardiovascular events!

A study by Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy, Nisha I Parikh, Sven Cnattingius, Jonas F Ludvigsson and Erik Ingelsson [1] has linked delivery of preterm babies and small for gestational age babies with future maternal cardiovascular events. It was a study involving nearly one million women delivering their first singleton babies between 1983 and 2005. This was a nationwide Swedish study. They checked the association between length of gestation, fetal growth and future maternal hospitalization or death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) which included coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular accidents and heart failure. Multivariate analysis adjusted for year of birth, income, education, country of birth, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and preeclampsia.

Previous studies had shown as the birth weight of offspring decreased, maternal risk of CVD increased. In this study, the risk of maternal CVD increased with decreasing gestational age of the first baby. A significant interaction was noted between preterm birth and fetal growth with maternal cardiovascular events (P<0.001). The differences were present even after correction for pregnancy related problems, smoking and socioeconomic factors. The risk related to birth weight was restricted to very small for gestational age infants.

It may be noted that babies born with low birth weight due to maternal undernutrition during pregnancy are prone for coronary artery disease later in life, especially if their living conditions are better (Barker’s hypothesis).

References

1. Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy, Nisha I Parikh, Sven Cnattingius, Jonas F Ludvigsson, Erik Ingelsson. Birth Characteristics and Subsequent Risks of Maternal Cardiovascular Disease – Effects of Gestational Age and Fetal Growth, Circulation. 2011 Dec 20;124(25):2839-46.