Association between the number of pregnancies and cardiac target organ damages: a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Korean women’s chest pain registry (KoROSE)

• Published in: BMC women's health Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 377 - 8
• Main Authors: Kim, Hack-Lyoung, Kim, Hyun-Jin, Kim, Mina, Park, Sang Min, Yoon, Hyun Ju, Byun, Young Sup, Park, Seong-Mi, Shin, Mi-Seung, Hong, Kyung-Soon, Kim, Myung-A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 17.07.2023; BioMed Central Ltd; BMC
• Subjects: Blood pressure; Body mass index; Cardiac stress tests; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Care and treatment; Causes of; Chest pain; Chi-square test; Cholesterol; Coronary angiography; Cross-sectional studies; Demographic aspects; Diabetes; Diastolic function; Ejection fraction; Gynecology; Health aspects; Health risks; Hemoglobin; Hypertension; Left ventricular mass; Lipoproteins; Maternal and Child Health; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic disorders; Pain; Parity; Patients; Pregnancy; Pregnant women; Prevention; Reproductive Medicine; Risk factors; Social aspects; Statistical analysis; Target organ damage; Velocity; Womens health; South Korea; Diastolic function; Pregnancy; Coronary angiography; Target organ damage; Left ventricular mass; Parity
• ISSN: 1472-6874; 1472-6874
• DOI: 10.1186/s12905-023-02514-w

Background Pregnancy increases long-term cardiovascular risk after childbirth, but the mechanisms are unclear. This study was performed to investigate the association between the number of pregnancies and several cardiac target organ damage (TOD) in middle-aged and elderly women. Methods Using the database of the nation-wide registry, a total of 1,137 women (mean age 63.0 ± 10.9 years) with stable chest pain undergoing invasive coronary angiography (CAG) were analyzed. Information on the number of pregnancies was obtained through a questionnaire. Obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), left ventricular (LV) mass index (LVMI) and LV septal annular (e′) velocity were assessed as indicators of cardiac TOD. Results Women with higher number of pregnancies (≥ 3) were older (66.3 ± 9.6 vs. 57.4 ± 10.7 years; P  < 0.001), had more cardiovascular risk factors, and took more cardiovascular medications than those with lower number of pregnancies (< 3). In multivariable analyses, higher number of pregnancies (≥ 3) was associated with obstructive CAD (odds ratio [OR], 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–2.17; P  = 0.001), a higher LVMI (> 95 g/m 2 ) (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.08–1.98; P  = 0.013) and a lower septal e′ velocity (< 7 cm/s) (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.12–2.14; P  = 0.007) even after controlling for potential confounders. As the number of pregnancies increased, the prevalence of CAD and LVMI increased, and the septal e’ velocity gradually decreased ( P  < 0.001 for each). Conclusions In women with chest pain undergoing invasive CAG, higher number of pregnancies was associated with multiple cardiac TOD. Parity information should be checked when assessing a woman’s cardiovascular risk.