(Press-News.org) Rising rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm birth and low birthweight, over the past 10 years are largely attributable to the health status of a person before they get pregnant, rather than age, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.
The study found that the average age of pregnant individuals rose from 27.9 years in 2011 to 29.1 years in 2019, yet age accounted for only a small portion of the marked increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes seen during the same period. Most striking, the rate of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (high blood pressure with or without preeclampsia or eclampsia) rose by over 50% during the decade, yet the shift in age distribution of those giving birth accounted for less than 2% of that change.
“Although mothers are getting older at the time they deliver, that is not what’s causing these adverse birth outcomes,” said Zachary Hughes, MD, an internal medicine physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and the study’s lead author. “What’s really driving it is pre-pregnancy health issues like diabetes and hypertension. That’s important to know because these are factors we could potentially modify.”
Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics Natality Files, researchers compared rates of preeclampsia and eclampsia, preterm birth and low birthweight among 3.9 million births in 2011 and 3.7 million births in 2019. The results showed moderate increases in preterm birth and low birthweight (which rose by about 2% and 4%, respectively) and larger increases in hypertensive disorders (a 52% increase). Using statistical methods to analyze the role of age in these changes, researchers found the shift in age distribution accounted for only a small portion of the increase across all outcomes assessed.
Adverse pregnancy outcomes have important 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. Researchers said preventing these adverse outcomes could help reduce cardiovascular risk throughout each lifespan.
“I hope these findings can lead more toward a culture change of focusing on health before pregnancy,” Hughes said. “A lot of people don’t establish care with a physician until they get pregnant, but really starting six months or a year before you’re starting to plan a pregnancy, that’s the time to maximize your health as much as possible and minimize the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. This also suggests that clinicians and policymakers could put more focus on pre-pregnancy health and managing things like hypertension and diabetes before someone gets pregnant.”
Across all age groups, people giving birth in their late teens to early thirties saw the steepest increases in adverse pregnancy outcomes. Further research is needed to determine which specific health issues—such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension or other factors—are driving these pregnancy complications in younger people, researchers said.
Current medical guidelines recognize pregnancy with anticipated delivery at age 35 or older as a risk factor for adverse outcomes and recommend additional screening and monitoring for these pregnancies. Based on these new study findings, researchers emphasized the importance of clinicians and people considering pregnancy, including those who are younger, to focus on addressing other health conditions to ensure the best possible chance of a healthy pregnancy and child. In addition, individuals diagnosed with gestational diabetes or high blood pressure during pregnancy should include these conditions as part of their health history going forward, even if the conditions resolve after birth, as they may lead to an increased risk of heart disease later in life.
Hughes will present the study, “Association Between Changes in Age Distribution of Birthing Individuals and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in the United States, 2011-2019,” in a digital-only format that can be accessed through the ACC.23/WCC eAbstracts site beginning at 8:30 a.m. /14:30 UTC on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
ACC.23/WCC will take place March 4-6, 2023, in New Orleans, bringing together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists from around the world to share the newest discoveries in treatment and prevention. Follow @ACCinTouch, @ACCMediaCenter and #ACC23/#WCCardio for the latest news from the meeting.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is the global leader in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all. As the preeminent source of professional medical education for the entire cardiovascular care team since 1949, ACC credentials cardiovascular professionals in over 140 countries who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. Through its world-renowned family of JACC Journals, NCDR registries, ACC Accreditation Services, global network of Member Sections, CardioSmart patient resources and more, the College is committed to ensuring a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient care and outcomes. Learn more at ACC.org.
###
END
People who became pregnant using assisted reproductive technologies were found to be over twice as likely to develop preeclampsia than those with traditional pregnancies, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.
The study, based on an analysis of health records from over 2.2 million patients, is the first to assess how reproductive technologies may affect the risk of cardiovascular complications during pregnancy on a national scale. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-related complication involving new onset high ...
People who used marijuana daily were found to be about one-third more likely to develop coronary artery disease (CAD) compared with people who have never used the drug, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.
As cannabis becomes legal in an increasing number of U.S. states, this study is among the largest and most comprehensive to date to examine the potential long-term cardiovascular implications of using the drug. CAD is the most common form of heart disease and occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart ...
People with Type 2 diabetes who were given a smartphone app that delivers personalized cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) saw significantly greater reductions in their blood sugar and less need for higher doses of diabetes medications at six months compared with those who only received standard diabetes care and a control app, in a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology. A clear “dose effect” was seen, with patients completing more CBT lessons seeing the greatest benefits.
“When studied in a large randomized controlled ...
More than 100 years ago, Charles Doolittle Walcott from the Smithsonian Institution was asked to examine strange star-shaped fossils with lobes hailing from the ~ 514-million-year-old Conasauga Formation in Alabama. Walcott described these odd fossils as jellyfish that likely floated in the middle Cambrian seas of what is now the southeastern United States. Little did he know that the Cambrian fossil he named would cause over 100 years of controversy.
The controversy hinged on the interpretation of what Brooksella really was: Was it truly a jellyfish ...
ROCKVILLE, MD – Carlas S. Smith, PhD, of Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands was honored as the recipient of the Biophysical Journal Paper of the Year-Early Career Investigator Award at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, held February 18-22 in San Diego, California. This award recognizes the work of outstanding early career investigators in biophysics. The winning paper is titled “Precision in Iterative Modulation Enhanced Single-Molecule Localization Microscopy.” The paper was published in ...
Astronomers from the University of Texas and the University of Arizona have discovered a rapidly growing black hole in one of the most extreme galaxies known in the very early Universe. The discovery of the galaxy and the black hole at its centre provides new clues on the formation of the very first supermassive black holes. The new work is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Using observations taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), a radio observatory sited in Chile, the team have determined that the galaxy, named COS-87259, containing this new supermassive ...
By illuminating a sample surface with short laser beam pulses, it is possible to film sequences of various chemical and physical reactions. A research team that included researchers from the University of Gothenburg has now developed the world’s fastest single-shot laser camera, which is at least a thousand times faster than today’s most modern equipment for combustion diagnostics. The discovery has enormous significance for studying the lightning-fast combustion of hydrocarbons.
What happens ...
University of South Australia researchers are calling for exercise to be a mainstay approach for managing depression as a new study shows that physical activity is 1.5 times more effective than counselling or the leading medications.
Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the review is the most comprehensive to date, encompassing 97 reviews, 1039 trials and 128,119 participants. It shows that physical activity is extremely beneficial for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety, and distress.
Specifically, the review showed that exercise interventions ...
It takes a few moments for the sound of thunder to reach our ears after a flash of lightning. This phenomenon is due to the photoacoustic (PA) effect where materials near the lightning instantly expand as the optical energy of the lightning is absorbed and converted into thermal energy. Using this PA effect, photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) has become a premier preclinical and clinical imaging modality to take images inside the body without using a contrast medium. However, its low-quality images, which can be improved with multiple ultrasound sensors and a multi-channel data acquisition (DAQ) system, ...
· Diseased neurons have pathology in which proteins become misfolded and toxic
· Normally supportive cells attack the diseased neurons and destroy them
· This pathology occurs in 90% of ALS patient brains and in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
CHICAGO --- Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered two ways to preserve diseased upper motor neurons that would normally be destroyed in ALS, based on a study in mice. Upper motor neurons initiate movement, ...
