Pregnancy-induced hypertension is associated with maternal history and a risk of cardiovascular disease in later life: Japanese cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: To clarify the associations between pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) with heritability of PIH from mother to daughter and the risk of cardiovascular disease in later life in Japanese women.

Study design: The Japan Nurses' Health Study (JNHS) is a cohort study of Japanese women's health. Data from the JNHS baseline survey between 2001 and 2007 were used to conduct a cross-sectional analysis. Of the 49,927 respondents in the baseline survey, 10,456 parous women who were ≥45 years old at baseline were included in the analysis.

Main outcome measures: The age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of PIH in women whose mother had a history of PIH, and the age-adjusted OR of PIH in participants for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus (DM).

Results: The age-adjusted OR of PIH was 2.72 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.14-3.46) in women whose mother had a history of PIH compared with those whose mother did not have PIH. PIH was a risk factor for hypertension (age adjusted OR: 2.85, 95% CI: 2.45-3.11), hypercholesterolemia (age-adjusted OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.29-1.72) and DM (age-adjusted OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.11-2.11), as determined by logistic regression analysis.

Conclusions: In Japanese women, the risk of PIH is approximately 2.7-fold greater in those whose mothers also had PIH compared with those whose mothers did not. PIH is a risk factor for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus in later life.