Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, obesity, and hypertension in later life by age group: a cross-sectional analysis

We investigated whether the association between a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and hypertension in later life varies by age group and the effect of obesity on the association between a history of HDP and hypertension in later life. This cross-sectional population-based study was conducted at the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project in Miyagi and Iwate, Japan. The study subjects were 33,412 parous women of 20 years of age and older. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess the association between a history of HDP and hypertension. We constructed a composite variable that combined a history of HDP (±) and overweight/obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m ) (±), resulting in four categories, and analyzed the risks of each category by multivariate logistic regression analysis. In total, 1585 (4.7%) women had a history of HDP. The prevalence of hypertension was higher in women with HDP (51.4%) than in those without HDP (36.8%; p