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Lifestyle Risk Factors & Hypertension in Women
BMJ; ePub 2017 Jul 12; Timpka, Stuart, et al
The risk of chronic hypertension after hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP: gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia) may be substantially reduced by adherence to a beneficial lifestyle, a recent study found. The prospective cohort study included 54,588 parous women aged 32 to 59 years without previous chronic hypertension, stroke, or myocardial infarction from the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991-2013). Researchers found:
- 10% of women had a history of HDP at baseline and 13,971 cases of chronic hypertension occurred during 689,988 person years of follow-up.
- Being overweight or obese was the only lifestyle factor consistently associated with higher risk of chronic hypertension.
- Higher body mass index (BMI) also increased the risk of chronic hypertension associated with a history of HDP.
Timpka S, Stuart JJ, Tanz LJ, Rimm EB, Franks PW, Rich-Edwards JW. Lifestyle in progression from hypertensive disorders of pregnancy to chronic hypertension in Nurses’ Health Study II: observational cohort study. BMJ. [Published online ahead of print July 12, 2017]. BMJ. doi:10.1136/bmj.j3024.
5-10% percent of women have a history of HDP. HDP is associated with earlier development of chronic hypertension and an increased risk of stroke and CVD.1 Hypertension during pregnancy identifies a group of women who are at higher than average risk of going on to develop chronic hypertension. This study shows that as important as weight control is for most individuals, encouraging a healthy lifestyle and control of weight is particularly important in this high-risk group. —Neil Skolnik, MD