Prevention & lipidsCross-sectional study
Cardiovascular Health Profiles in Pregnant, Postpartum, and Nonpregnant Reproductive-Aged Women Using Life’s Essential 8 Scores
- serial cross-sectional analysis
- Population weighted analyses
Authors' conclusion
Reproductive-aged women in the United States demonstrated moderate CVH, with pregnant women exhibiting lower LE8 scores compared to postpartum and nonpregnant women. These findings highlight modifiable targets for interventions to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes and future cardiovascular risk.
Study context
- Population
- Reproductive-aged women 20 to 44 years of age in the United States participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2015 to 2023representing 46.9 million U.S. women, 10.7% were pregnant, breastfeeding, or postpartum
- Participants
- 3,992 women
- Exposure
- Cardiovascular health (CVH) scores between women with any pregnancy-related condition and nonpregnant women
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
LE8 score
Overall mean LE8 score (moderate CVH)
66
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Values |
|---|---|
| LE8 score, any pregnancy-related condition vs nonpregnant | any pregnancy-related condition 65 · nonpregnant women 66 |
| LE8 score by pregnancy status | Pregnant women 62 · postpartum 67 · breastfeeding 70 · nonpregnant women 66 |
| high-sensitive C-reactive protein | Pregnant women 4.68 mg/dL · postpartum 2.39 mg/dL · breastfeeding 2.40 mg/dL · nonpregnant women 2.06 mg/dL |
- LE8 score, any pregnancy-related condition vs nonpregnant: P = 0.20
- LE8 score by pregnancy status: P < 0.001
- high-sensitive C-reactive protein: P = 0.006
Original publication
Cardiovascular Health Profiles in Pregnant, Postpartum, and Nonpregnant Reproductive-Aged Women Using Life’s Essential 8 Scores. JACC Adv. Published 23 June 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jacadv.2026.102934
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it