Blood pressure of young mothers and their children after hypertension in adolescent pregnancy: six- to nine-year follow-up

Abstract

To determine if gestational hypertension during adolescent pregnancy is associated with subsequently elevated blood pressure, blood pressures were measured in young mothers 3-6 years and again at 6-9 years after their first pregnancy. Follow-up study groups were selected from an original study population of 409 pregnant adolescent women followed at the university of Kentucky Medical Center between 1971 and 1974 in a specially designated Young Mothers' Program. Blood pressures measured during the first and second follow-up surveys were highly correlated. Compared to matched control subjects who remained normotensive throughout pregnancy (n = 54), women with a history of hypertension during pregnancy (n = 70) were heavier, maintained higher blood pressure, and had a greater incidence of hypertension in subsequent pregnancies. At the second follow-up survey, systolic blood pressure and body weight of male children born to women who experienced gestational hypertension were greater than respective values in males born to women with normotensive pregnancies. Blood pressures of female children of the two groups of young mothers did not differ. Overall, blood pressures and body weights of young mothers correlated with blood pressures and body weights of both their children and their own mothers. The results suggest that gestational hypertension may unmask a tendency for hypertension.