Adolescent Cardiovascular Risk Trajectories and Later-Life Maternal Morbidity

Is cardiovascular health (CVH) status in adolescence and young adulthood associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in later life?In this cohort study of 1094 participants, optimal CVH (defined by a Life’s Essential 8 risk score ranging from 80 to 100) in adolescence and young adulthood vs poor and intermediate CVH had lower risk estimates for gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in adulthood. The highest incidence of gestational diabetes was observed among participants with poor CVH in adolescence and young adulthood.Optimal CVH in adolescence may be key in preventing cardiovascular-related morbidity in pregnancy and later life.

Corresponding Author: Katharine J. McCarthy, PhD, MPH, Department of Population Health Science and Policy and the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, One Gustave Levy Place, New York, NY 10035 (katharine.mccarthy@mountsinai.org).

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