Background: The association between preterm delivery (PTD) and maternal risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) was demonstrated, but the economic burden of CVD in these women was unknown. Methods: A Markov microsimulation model, comprising no event, postacute coronary event (ACE, including acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina), poststroke, post-ACE and stroke, postheart failure, and death, was constructed to quantify the CVD burden in women with PTD from 2017 to 2066 using the Australian health care system perspective. Both first-ever and recurrent CVD events were accounted for in the model. Population with PTD histories was sourced from Australian Bureau of Statistics and costs of acute hospitalization and long-term management from government websites. Nonmonetary burden as years of life lost (YLL) was compared between women with and without PTD histories. Both dynamic (i.e., new cohort added every cycle) and static (i.e., population was stabilized) approaches were used to measure the CVD burden, with sensitivity analyses examining the robustness of results. Results: The dynamic model showed the total CVD burden caused by PTD as AUD11.4 billion for the next 50 years and the YLL as 0.34/capita, while the static model generated a cost of AUD4.5 billion and the YLL as 0.52/capita. Long-term management cost was the primary cost determinant (AUD9.4 billion and AUD3.7 billion, respectively) in the two models, with the results most sensitive to the discount rate and time horizon. Conclusions: Considering the substantial economic burden, recognizing PTD as a potential risk factor and encouraging women with PTD histories to participate in primary prevention programs would potentially curb the ever-increasing CVD burden.
Keywords: cardiovascular diseases; economic burden; microsimulation; preterm delivery; women.