P2249Does self-reported pregnancy loss identify women at risk of an adverse cardiovascular phenotype in later life? Insights from UK biobank
Authors: Elmahi E , Sanghvi M M , Jones A , Aye C Y L , Lewandowski A J , Aung N , Cooper J A , Paiva J M , Lukaschuk E , Piechnik S K , Neubauer S , Petersen S E , Leeson P 
Published: October 2019

Introduction

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is more common in women who have had pregnancy complications such as spontaneous pregnancy loss. We used cross-sectional data from the UK Biobank Imaging Enhancement Study to determine whether pregnancy loss is associated with cardiac or vascular remodelling in later life, which might contribute to this increased risk.

Methods

Pregnancy history was reported by women participating in UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010 at age 40–69 years using a self-completed touch-screen questionnaire. Self-reported pregnancy loss was related to cardiovascular measures collected in those women who had participated in the Imaging Enhancement Study up to the end of 2015. Cardiac structure and function were assessed by magnetic resonance (CMR) steady-state free precession imaging at 1.5 Tesla. Three long axes cines (horizontal, vertical and LV outflow tract) and a complete short axis stack were acquired, covering both ventricles. Tagging was used to measure myocardial strain in basal, midventricular and apical short axes views. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) measurements were taken for both common carotid arteries using a CardioHealth Station. Statistical associations with CMR and carotid measures were adjusted for age, BMI and other cardiovascular risk factors.

Results

Data were available on 2660 women of whom 113 were excluded because of pre-existing CVD and 8 had no pregnancy information available. Of the remaining 2539, 466 were nulligravid and 2073 had a history of pregnancies, of whom 622 reported at least one pregnancy loss (92% miscarriages and 8% stillbirths) and 1451 reported no pregnancy loss. No significant differences in cardiac or carotid parameters were evident in women who reported pregnancy loss compared to other groups (Table 1).

CMR cardiac geometry & CIMT measurements Variable Pregnancy History Adjusted Means ± SE Effect Size (%) 95% CI P LVEDV (ml) Pregnancy Loss 122.2±1.0 0 – – No Pregnancy 124.1±1.4 1.58 (−0.83, 4.05) 0.20 Pregnancy (no loss) 122.2±0.8 0.2 (−1.42, 1.48) 0.97 LVESV (ml) Pregnancy Loss 47.8±0.6 0 – – No Pregnancy 48.0±0.8 0.45 (−3.19, 4.22) 0.81 Pregnancy (no loss) 47.3±0.5 −1.01 (−3.19, 1.22) 0.37 VEF (%) Pregnancy Loss 60.6±0.3 0 – – No Pregnancy 61.0±0.4 0.42 (−0.50, 1.35) 0.37 Pregnancy (no loss) 61.0±0.2 0.43 (−0.14, 0.99) 0.14 LVM (g) Pregnancy Loss 70.6±0.6 0 – – No Pregnancy 70.5±0.8 −0.15 (−2.68, 2.44) 0.91 Pregnancy (no loss) 70.4±0.5 −0.26 (−1.81, 1.30) 0.74 CIMT (μm) Pregnancy Loss 633.3±6.5 0 – – No Pregnancy 619.3±8.4 −2.22 (−5.04, 0.68) 0.13 Pregnancy (no loss) 627.1±4.9 −0.99 (−2.75, 0.81) 0.28

Conclusion

Women who self-report pregnancy loss do not have significant differences in cardiac or carotid structure in later life to explain past epidemiological findings of increased cardiovascular risk in this population. This may be because this risk operates through other disease mechanisms or that self-report is not a sufficiently reliable way to identify pregnancy loss, and thereby allocate women into risk groups.