Heart failure & cardiomyopathies
Prenatal Exposure to Severe Stress and the Risk of Heart Failure Up to Middle-Age
Authors' conclusion
Maternal loss of a partner or older child and loss of a close relative caused by unnatural causes the year before or during pregnancy were associated with increased risk of HF in offspring.
Study context
- Population
- Live singleton births, Danish (1973–2016) and Swedish (1973–2014) Medical Birth Registers
- Participants
- 6,758,560 births
- Exposure
- Maternal bereavement vs no bereavement
- Outcome
- HF in offspring
- Follow-up
- Up to 48 years
Methodological detailsnationwide registers, Denmark and Sweden
- Nationwide registers
- Denmark and Sweden
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI)
Maternal loss of any close family membernot associated with HF
1.04(0.88–1.23)
Death of a partner or an older child
1.47(1.06–2.04)
Unnatural death of a relative
2.77(1.49–5.17)
- Offspring with heart failure (HF) diagnosis
- 4,812 (0.07%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Prenatal Exposure to Severe Stress and the Risk of Heart Failure Up to Middle-Age. JACC Heart Fail. Published 21 February 2024. doi:10.
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