PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Moms' pre-pregnancy weight impacts risk of dying decades later

American Heart Association Meeting Report Abstract 20038

2014-11-18
(Press-News.org) Adults whose mothers were overweight or obese before pregnancy have a dramatically elevated risk of dying from heart disease or stroke, according to a new study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014.

"Excess weight among young women of childbearing age has important implications not only for their own health, but for that of their children as well," said Michael Mendelson, M.D., S.M., the study's lead author and a research fellow at the Framingham Heart Study, Boston University and the Boston Children's Hospital.

Previous studies had shown that people whose mothers were overweight before pregnancy were at higher risk for obesity, diabetes and elevated cholesterol. This study examined whether that translated into higher rates of cardiovascular disease and death.

Researchers analyzed data from 1971 to 2012 on 879 participants (52 percent female, average age 32 when the study began) in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort with information about their mothers' pre-pregnancy weight status. About 10 percent of the mothers had been overweight, with a body mass index of 25 or higher before pregnancy. That translates to a weight of 145 pounds or more for a 5-foot-4 woman.

During the 41-year span, there were 193 cardiovascular events (coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure), 28 cardiovascular deaths, and 138 total deaths among the offspring.

Compared with adults whose mothers had not been overweight, the study found that offspring of overweight or obese mothers were at 90 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease or death.Those offspring's own risk factors, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, appeared to account for some of that difference, Mendelson said. The results of this study support efforts to reduce obesity among young women before childbearing years, he added.

Currently, more than one-half of pregnant women in the Unites States are overweight or obese, according to online statistics from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Study participants were all Caucasian, Mendelson said, adding that more research would be needed to see whether the findings apply to other racial or ethnic groups. Additional larger studies in other populations are needed to verify these findings; however, these results contribute to a growing body of evidence linking maternal health to later life cardiovascular health in their children.

INFORMATION: Co-authors are Asya Lyass, Ph.D.; Sarah D. de Ferranti, M.D., M.P.H.; Charlotte Andersson, M.D., Ph.D.; Caroline Fox, M.D., M.P.H.; Chris O'Donnell, M.D., M.P.H.; Matthew Gillman, M.D., S.M.; Ralph B. D'Agostino Sr., Ph.D.; and Dan Levy, M.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.

The Framingham Heart Study is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health in collaboration with Boston University. Dr. Mendelson is partly funded by Boston University and the Tommy Kaplan Fund, Department of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital.

Additional Resources: Downloadable video/audio interviews, B-roll, animation and images related to this news release are on the right column of the release link Video clips with researchers/authors of the studies will be added to the release link after embargo. Obesity Information Body Mass Index Calculator Extra pregnancy pounds linked to kids with heart risks For more news from the AHA's Scientific Sessions follow us on Twitter @HeartNews #AHA14. Statements and conclusions of study authors that are presented at American Heart Association scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect association policy or position. The association makes no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at http://www.heart.org/corporatefunding.

Note: Actual presentation is 11:30 a.m. CT / 12:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 (S505, Core 2).

For Media Inquiries:

AHA News Media in Dallas: (214) 706-1173

AHA News Media Office, Nov. 15-19,

at the McCormick Place Convention Center: (312) 949-3400

For Public Inquiries: (800) AHA-USA1 (242-8721) heart.org and strokeassociation.org

Life is why we fund scientific breakthroughs that save and improve lives.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Early detectable vascular disease linked to erectile dysfunction

2014-11-18
Men who have asymptomatic subclinical vascular disease are more likely to develop erectile dysfunction than men who don't have early stage vascular disease, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014. "Erectile function can be a window into men's cardiovascular and overall health," said David I. Feldman, B.S., lead author and research assistant at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland. "Erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease commonly coexist." Researchers ...

Trans fat consumption is linked to diminished memory in working-aged adults

2014-11-18
High trans fat consumption is linked to worse memory among working-age men, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014. In a recent study of approximately 1,000 healthy men, those who consumed the most trans fats showed notably worse performance on a word memory test. The strength of the association remained even after taking into consideration things like age, education, ethnicity and depression. "Trans fats were most strongly linked to worse memory, in young and middle-aged men, during their working and career-building ...

Pregnant women with congenital heart disease may have low complication risks during delivery

2014-11-18
Pregnant women with congenital heart disease had very low risks of arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) or other heart-related complications during labor and delivery, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014. However, such women were more likely to undergo cesarean section and remain in the hospital longer, researchers said. "We are pleased to find the risk of complications are not as high as expected in women with congenital heart disease," said Robert M. Hayward, M.D., lead study author and a cardiac electrophysiology ...

Protected area expansion target: Is a huge promise lost due to land conversion?

2014-11-18
By expanding the protected area network to 17 percent of land one could triple the present protection levels of terrestrial vertebrates. Globally coordinated protected area network expansion could deliver a result 50 percent more efficient compared to countries looking only at biodiversity within their own area. Land conversion is however fast degrading options for conservation. Protected areas are one of the main tools for halting the ongoing global biodiversity crisis. According to the Aichi Target 11 adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the global ...

Family planning programs involving men, empower women

Family planning programs involving men, empower women
2014-11-18
WASHINGTON - In a society where women often lead very restricted lives and men are the primary household decision makers, new research suggests women are empowered when men are included in family planning programs. A study, from the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University Medical Center, suggests that addressing the dynamics between husbands and wives can result in women making more financial decisions and having more control over their social interactions, while at the same time meeting their family planning needs. "Our study is one of the first to ...

Avoiding skin graft rejection: It's possible!

2014-11-18
A research team bringing together José Cohen and Philippe Grimbert (Inserm Unit 955/Université Paris Est Créteil [UPEC] and the Centre for Clinical Investigation - Biotherapies 504 [CIC-BT 504]), and their collaborators at Institut Curie and AP-HP (George Pompidou European Hospital) has succeeded in finding a combination of drugs that reduces the risk of rejection following a skin graft. When tested in mice, this treatment seems effective, since no sign of rejection is observed nearly 30 days after transplantation. These results are published in the American ...

New measurement of HDL cholesterol function provides information about cardiovascular risk

New measurement of HDL cholesterol function provides information about cardiovascular risk
2014-11-18
DALLAS - November 18, 2014 - Groundbreaking research from UT Southwestern Medical Center shows that cholesterol efflux capacity (cholesterol efflux), which measures HDL cholesterol function, appears to be a superior indicator of cardiovascular risk and a better target for therapeutic treatments than standard measurements of HDL. Current measurement methods reflect only the circulating levels of HDL and not the functional properties of this lipoprotein. The latest findings appear online today in The New England Journal of Medicine. HDL's key function is the removal of ...

Soy spells fewer hot flashes for certain women

2014-11-18
CLEVELAND, Ohio (November 17, 2014)--Does soy in the diet help with hot flashes? It does, but only for women whose bodies can produce the soy metabolite equol, reports a study of American women just published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society. About 20% to 50% of North American and European women have this ability. The researchers surveyed women from age 45 to 55 in a Seattle, Washington-area healthcare system to find study participants who weren't using hormone therapy and ate soy foods at least three times a week. The participants ...

Establishment of induced pluripotent stem cells from Werner syndrome fibroblasts

2014-11-18
Hiroshima, Japan--- Associate Professor Akira Shimamoto and Professor Hidetoshi Tahara at the Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Science in Hiroshima University, Professor Koutaro Yokote at the Graduate School of Medicine in Chiba University, Visiting Professor Makoto Goto at the Medical Center East in Tokyo Women's Medical University, and collaborators including the staff at the Cancer Chemotherapy Center in the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tottori University, and Keio University established induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from the fibroblasts of Werner ...

Finding new ways to make drugs

Finding new ways to make drugs
2014-11-18
Chemists have developed a revolutionary new way to manufacture natural chemicals and used it to assemble a scarce anti-inflammatory drug with potential to treat cancer and malaria. The breakthrough could lead to new and cheaper ways to produce rare drugs in large quantities. "We took small molecules and clipped them together like Lego," said lead researcher Professor Michael Sherburn, from the Research School of Chemistry at The Australian National University (ANU). "The building blocks are carefully designed in such a way that the first reaction generates a product ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Eindhoven University of Technology and JMIR Publications announce unlimited open access publishing agreement

Orphan nuclear receptors in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease development

A technological breakthrough for ultra-fast and greener AI

Pusan National University researchers identify key barriers hindering data-driven smart manufacturing adoption

Inking heterometallic nanosheets: A scalable breakthrough for coating, electronics, and electrocatalyst applications

Adults with autism show similar brain mapping of body parts as typically developing adults

Uncovering behavioral clues to childhood maltreatment

Premenstrual symptoms linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease

Newly discovered remains of ancient river landscapes control ice flow in East Antarctica

Newly discovered interstellar object 'may be oldest comet ever seen'

Animal-inspired AI robot learns to navigate unfamiliar terrain

Underserved youth less likely to visit emergency department for concussion in Ontario, study finds

‘Molecular shield’ placed in the nose may soon treat common hay fever trigger

Beetles under climate stress lay larger male eggs: Wolbachia infection drives adaptive reproduction strategy in response to rising temperature and CO₂

Groundbreaking quantum study puts wave-particle duality to work

Weekly injection could be life changing for Parkinson’s patients

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

[Press-News.org] Moms' pre-pregnancy weight impacts risk of dying decades later
American Heart Association Meeting Report Abstract 20038