Postpartum weight retention and the early evolution of cardiovascular risk over the first 5 years after pregnancy – Cardiovascular Diabetology
Background The cumulative effect of postpartum weight retention from each pregnancy in a woman’s life may contribute to her risk of ultimately developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, there is limited direct evidence supporting this hypothesis. Thus, we sought to characterize the impact of postpartum weight retention on the trajectories of cardiovascular risk factors over the first 5-years after pregnancy. Methods In this prospective observational cohort study, 330 women (mean age 35.7 ± 4.3 years, mean pre-pregnancy body mass index 25.2 ± 4.8 kg/m2, 50.9% primiparous) underwent serial cardiometabolic characterization (anthropometry, blood pressure, lipids, oral glucose tolerance test, insulin sensitivity/resistance (Matsuda index, HOMA-IR), C-reactive protein (CRP), adiponectin) at 1-year, 3-years, and 5-years postpartum. Based on the magnitude of weight change between pre-pregnancy and 5-years postpartum, they were stratified into the following 3 groups: weight