Hypertension in Pregnancy and Offspring Cardiovascular Risk in Young Adulthood

Women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are at increased lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease. We examined the offspring’s cardiovascular risk profile in young adulthood and their siblings’ cardiovascular risk profile. From the HUNT study (Nord-Trondelag Health Study) in Norway, 15 778 participants (mean age: 29 years), including 210 sibling groups, were linked to information from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Blood pressure, anthropometry, serum lipids, and C-reactive protein were assessed. Seven hundred and six participants were born after exposure to maternal hypertension in pregnancy: 336 mothers had gestational hypertension, 343 had term preeclampsia, and 27 had preterm preeclampsia. Offspring whose mothers had hypertension in pregnancy had 2.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.8–3.5) mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure, 1.5 (0.9–2.1) mm Hg higher diastolic blood pressure, 0.66 (0.31–1.01) kg/m2 higher body mass index, and 1.49 (0.65–2.33) cm wider waist circumference, compared with off...