Health, not age, drives increased pregnancy complications
Mothers are getting older, but that’s not why pregnancies are riskier
The increased rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as hypertensive disorders, preterm birth, and low birth weight, over the past 10 years is largely attributed to a person’s health status of a person before becoming pregnant, rather than age, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in conjunction with the World Congress of Cardiology. Cardiology.
The study found that the average age of pregnant people increased from 27.9 years in 2011 to 29.1 years in 2019, but age accounted for only a small part of the marked increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes observed during the same period.Most strikingly, the rate of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (high blood pressure with or without preeclampsia or eclampsia) increased by more than 50% over the decade, although the change in the age distribution of those who gave birth accounted for less than 2% of that change.
«Although mothers are aging at the time of delivery, that’s not what’s causing these adverse birth outcomes.», said Zachary Hughes, MD, an internal medicine physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and lead author of the study. «What really drives it are the pre-pregnancy health problems, such as diabetes and hypertension. It’s important to know because these are factors that we could potentially change.»
Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics’ birth records, the researchers compared rates of preeclampsia and eclampsia, preterm births and low birth weight between 3.9 million births in 2011 and 3.7 million births in 2019.Results showed moderate increases in preterm birth and low birth weight (increasing by about 2% and 4%, respectively) and greater increases in hypertensive disorders (a 52% increase). By using statistical methods to analyze the role of age in these changes, the researchers found that the change in age distribution accounted for only a small portion of the increase in all outcomes assessed.
Adverse pregnancy outcomes have significant health consequences, including an increased risk of heart disease both at the time of pregnancy and later in life, not only for the person giving birth but also for the baby. The researchers said preventing these adverse outcomes could help reduce cardiovascular risk over a lifetime.
Source — https://www.intramed.net/103769