Impact of adolescent pregnancy on hypertension in postmenopausal women

Objective: Several studies have reported the detrimental effects on maternal health due to pregnancy during adolescence, but no studies have reported the influence of adolescent pregnancy on blood pressure in women's later life. Method: We investigated whether there was an association between adolescent pregnancy and the risk of hypertension in Korean postmenopausal women. This study used the data of 2538 postmenopausal women from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2010-2011. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the independent association between adolescent pregnancy and hypertension by adjusting for potential confounding factors. Results: Postmenopausal women with a history of adolescent pregnancy had a higher prevalence of hypertension than those without a history of adolescent pregnancy. After fully adjusting for potential confounding factors such as age, lifestyle, sociodemographic factors, known hypertension risk factors, and reproductive factors, a history of adolescent pregnancy was significantly associated with hypertension (odds ratio, 1.702; 95% confidence interval, 1.125-2.574). Conclusion: This study showed that a history of adolescent pregnancy is significantly and independently associated with a higher risk of hypertension in postmenopausal women.