SOMANZ Poster Presentation Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society and Society of Obstetric Medicine Australia and New Zealand Joint Scientific Meeting 2025

Persistent cardiometabolic risk following pregnancy complications: a repeated-measures analysis (#190)

Emily Aldridge 1 2 3 , Maleesa Pathirana 1 2 3 , Susan Sierp 2 , Gustaaf Dekker 1 3 4 , Claire Roberts 1 3 5 , Margaret Arstall 1 2
  1. Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  2. Department of Cardiology, Lyell McEwin Hospital, Elizabeth Vale, SA, Australia
  3. Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  4. Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Lyell McEwin Hospital, Elizabeth Vale, SA, Australia
  5. College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia

Aim

Maternal complications of pregnancy, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus, fetal growth restriction, preterm labour, and placental abruption, are associated with significantly increased risk of future cardiometabolic disease. Lifestyle interventions in early postpartum that focus on preventative strategies are recommended for cardiometabolic disease risk reduction in this young, high-risk population of women. The aim of this repeated-measure registry analysis was to report the change in maternal metabolic syndrome status after receiving a nurse practitioner-led lifestyle primary prevention intervention delivered soon after a complicated pregnancy.

Method

This registry analysis included N=212 women who had two appointments, at six- and eighteen-months postpartum after a complicated pregnancy, at the postpartum lifestyle clinic in Adelaide, South Australia between 2018 and 2024. Metabolic syndrome status at both time points was assessed.

Results

For the repeated-measure analysis (n=212), the metabolic syndrome prevalence increased from 36.3% (n=77) at six-months postpartum to 42.9% (n=91) at eighteen months postpartum. This increase was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Individual measures of metabolic syndrome and other cardiometabolic measures remained similar across both timepoints.

Conclusion

There is a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in women who have recently experienced a complicated pregnancy, putting them at significantly increased risk of future cardiovascular disease. The results of our analysis indicate that more drastic and holistic interventions, rather than simply lifestyle intervention, may be required to assist young women reduce their cardiovascular disease risk following pregnancy.