TUESDAY, May 26, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) during gestation is associated with suboptimal cardiovascular health (CVH) among offspring in early adulthood, according to a study published online May 14 in JAMA Network Open.
Emily L. Lam, from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues examined associations of APO exposure with CVH and early arterial injury among offspring in young adulthood (mean age, 22.4 years) in a longitudinal cohort study.
The researchers found that 10, 5, and 10 percent of the 1,333 offspring participants had exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), gestational diabetes (GD), and preterm birth (PTB), respectively. After adjustment for sociodemographic factors, HDP exposure was associated with higher body mass index, higher diastolic blood pressure, and higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level in early adulthood (adjusted β, 2.80, 2.29, and 0.21, respectively). There was an association seen for PTB with higher HbA1c level (adjusted β, 0.29). GD exposure was associated with lower Life's Essential 8 blood pressure scores (adjusted β, −6.59). An association was observed for HDP exposure with higher mean carotid intima-media thickness and lower carotid grayscale median (adjusted β, 0.02 and −3.68, respectively). Higher mean carotid intima-media thickness was seen in association with exposure to GD (adjusted β, 0.02).
"We must make sure people maintain good health from childhood into young adulthood, so that if or when someone becomes a parent, they pass on the best opportunity for good health to their children," senior author Nilay S. Shah, M.D., M.P.H., also from the Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a statement.
