Pregnancy complications tied to later heart, kidney and diabetes risk
A study of more than 1.4 million women in England found that problems in any pregnancy, not just the latest, were linked to higher later rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney disease. Gestational diabetes came with a sevenfold higher rate of type 2 diabetes. The study appeared in BMJ Medicine.
Women who had complications in a pregnancy face higher risk of heart, kidney and blood sugar problems in the years after, a large study suggests. Researchers studied more than 1.4 million women who had been pregnant and were registered with a family doctor between 2000 and 2022. They followed them for an average of four years. The study appeared in BMJ Medicine, the BMJ Group said Tuesday.
The strongest links were with problems already known to matter. High blood pressure in pregnancy and preeclampsia, a dangerous blood pressure condition in pregnancy, more than tripled the later rate of high blood pressure. They roughly doubled the rate of chronic kidney disease. Gestational diabetes, which is diabetes that starts during pregnancy, came with a sevenfold higher rate of type 2 diabetes.
Some links were newer. Depression after giving birth raised the rate of all four conditions studied, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease, by 35% to 56%. Miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth and placental abruption were tied to modestly higher rates of at least one condition. Placental abruption is when the placenta pulls away from the womb wall before delivery.
The study also counted earlier pregnancies, not just the most recent one. Most past research looked only at the latest pregnancy, and few studies looked at kidney disease, the authors noted.
There are limits. This was an observational study, so it does not prove that a complication causes later disease. The authors say a complication works more like a warning sign of risk that was already there. The data also lacked details on diet and exercise, and ethnicity was missing for about a fifth of the women.
What it means for patients: the authors say doctors should take a full pregnancy history. They also say the months after birth are a good time to check risk and start steps to protect the heart. In their view, a past complication, even from years ago, is part of a woman's health history worth sharing with her doctor.
Researchers still need to test whether adding pregnancy history to existing risk tools makes it easier to predict a woman's future heart, kidney and metabolic health.
What we know: Several pregnancy complications were linked to higher later rates of four common conditions.
What we don't: Why the links exist, and whether using pregnancy history will improve risk checks.
Where outlets agree The BMJ Group release and the University of Birmingham listing both describe the study as following more than 1.4 million women.
Where they differ The authors say the links do not prove that complications cause later disease, and they may instead flag risk that was already there.