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. 2023 Jul 17;23(1):377.
doi: 10.1186/s12905-023-02514-w.

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)

Hack-Lyoung Kim  1 , Hyun-Jin Kim  2 , Mina Kim  3 , Sang Min Park  4 , Hyun Ju Yoon  5 , Young Sup Byun  6 , Seong-Mi Park  3 , Mi-Seung Shin  7 , Kyung-Soon Hong  8 , Myung-A Kim  9
Affiliations

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)

Hack-Lyoung Kim et al. BMC Womens Health. .

Abstract

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/m2) (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.

Keywords: Coronary angiography; Diastolic function; Left ventricular mass; Parity; Pregnancy; Target organ damage.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of number of pregnancies
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Associations of number of pregnancies with prevalence of obstructive CAD (A), LV mass index (B) and LV septal e′ velocity (C) CAD, coronary artery disease; LV, left ventricular
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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