Preterm Birth is Associated With Increased Blood Pressure in Young Adult Women

Background While there is some evidence of elevated blood pressure later in life in preterm survivors, data on adult women are still lacking. Thus, we assessed the associations between preterm birth and blood pressure in young adult women. Methods and Results We studied 5232 young adult women who volunteered for military service in Sweden between 1990 and 2007. Anthropometric and clinic blood pressure data were collected during the medical examination at the time of conscription. There was a progressive decline in systolic and diastolic blood pressures, as well as in mean arterial pressure, with increasing gestational age. Women born preterm had an adjusted increase in systolic blood pressure of 3.8 mm Hg (95% CI , 2.5-5.1; P