Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Linked to Increased Risk for Peripheral Artery Disease

MONDAY, July 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Adverse pregnancy outcomes are associated with an increased risk for peripheral artery disease (PAD) up to 46 years later, according to a study published online July 21 in PLOS Medicine.Casey Crump, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, and colleagues examined the long-term risks for PAD associated with five major adverse pregnancy outcomes in a large population-based cohort. The study included 2,201,446 women with a singleton delivery in Sweden in 1973 to 2015, who were followed up for PAD through 2018.The researchers found that 13,211 women (0.6 percent) were diagnosed with PAD during 54 million person-years of follow-up. A significantly increased long-term risk for PAD was seen in association with all adverse pregnancy outcomes. Adjusted hazard ratios for PAD were increased at 30 to 46 years following delivery in association with specific pregnancy outcomes, including gestational diabetes, small for gestational age, other hypertensive disorders, preterm delivery, and preeclampsia (adjusted hazard ratios, 3.83, 1.74, 1.61, 1.58, and 1.28, respectively). Shared familial factors only partially explained these findings. Further increases in risk were seen for women with multiple adverse pregnancy outcomes."Our prior work has already shown that adverse pregnancy outcomes are associated with long-term risks of heart disease, stroke, and heart failure," Crump said in a statement. "This study builds on that work by showing that these women have an increased risk of peripheral artery disease, an important but understudied cardiovascular condition."Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Linked to Increased Risk for Peripheral Artery Disease

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