A Northwestern Medicine study published in JAMA Network Open demonstrates that pregnancy complications are linked to poorer cardiovascular health in offspring more than 20 years later, with implications for intergenerational heart disease risk. Researchers evaluated nearly 1,350 mother-child pairs from the Future of Families and Child Well-Being Study, enrolled at birth between 1998 and 2000 across 20 U.S. cities and followed into adulthood.
Pregnancy Complications and Long-Term Outcomes
The study examined three pregnancy complications—high blood pressure during pregnancy, gestational diabetes (high blood sugar during pregnancy), and preterm birth (before 37 weeks)—which collectively affect almost one in four pregnancies in the U.S. At age 22, young adults exposed to maternal high blood pressure showed higher body mass index (+2.8 BMI points), higher diastolic blood pressure (+2.3 mm Hg), higher blood sugar levels (+0.2% HbA1c), and thicker artery walls (~0.02 mm). While artery wall thickening may seem minor, it corresponds to roughly three to five years of additional vascular aging, with arteries looking older and less healthy than expected.
Gestational diabetes exposure was linked to worse blood pressure and some evidence of artery thickening, while preterm birth was associated with higher blood sugar levels. These findings add to growing evidence that cardiovascular risk may be transmitted across generations through biological, environmental, and behavioral factors.
Health Messaging for Parents and Clinicians
Study senior author Dr. Nilay Shah stresses that “we must make sure people maintain good health from childhood into young adulthood, so that if or when someone becomes a parent, they pass on the best opportunity for good health to their children.” He emphasizes that risk is not destiny: if a child was exposed to maternal high blood pressure, high blood sugar during pregnancy, or was born early, “it does not absolutely mean that your child will have worse health as adults.” Instead, Shah encourages parents to pay attention to children’s health behaviors, noting that “what children learn in childhood sets the stage for their health across their lives.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2026/05/heart-disease-risk-may-start-in-the-womb