Abstract
Background: Adverse pregnancy outcomes affect approximately 20% pregnant women, and
their incidence is increasing.
Objective
To investigate the effect of cardiovascular health during pregnancy on adverse
pregnancy outcomes and the effect modification by psychological distress, social isolation,
and income.
Study Design: We analyzed data from 14,930 pregnant women in the Tohoku Medical
Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study. Cardiovascular health status
during pregnancy was assessed using the eight components of Life’s Essential 8 as proposed
by the American Heart Association, including diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep
health, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure. Adverse pregnancy
outcomes were defined as composite outcomes of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus,
preterm birth, and small for gestational age. Using logistic regression analyses, we examined
the associations between cardiovascular health and adverse pregnancy outcomes,
preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, preterm birth, small for gestational age, large for
gestational age, low birth weight, and neonatal intensive care unit admission. Interactions
with psychological distress, social isolation, and income were examined.
Results
The numbers of participants with high, moderate, and low cardiovascular health
status were 2,891 (19.4%), 11,498 (77.0%), and 541 (3.6%), respectively. Moderate and low
cardiovascular health status were positively associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes
(odds ratio and 95% confidence interval: 1.17 (10.04 to 1.32) and 2.64 (2.13 to 3.27),
respectively). Low cardiovascular health status was also associated with a higher prevalence
of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, preterm birth, large for gestational age, and
neonatal intensive care unit admission, and lower prevalence of small for gestational age.
Among pregnant women with low cardiovascular health status, those who reported social
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isolation had a higher prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes than did those without
social isolation (36.4% vs. 27.4%). However, this difference was attenuated for pregnant
women with high cardiovascular health status (13.6% vs. 13.1%).
Conclusions
Cardiovascular health status assessed using Life’s Essential 8 may be useful for
assessing the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Socially isolated pregnant women are
more vulnerable to the effects of low cardiovascular health status; thus, they should be
prioritized for access to primary care, lifestyle education, and appropriate pharmacotherapy.
Keywords
Cohort study, Gestational diabetes, Health disparities, Income, Life’s Essential 8,
Preeclampsia, Prenatal care, Preterm birth, Psychological distress, Small for gestational age
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Introduction
1
Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs), which encompass unfavorable events or complications 2
occurring during pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum, affect approximately 20% pregnant 3
women and are increasing.1, 2 Following delivery, APOs can progress to cardiovascular 4
disease (CVD)3-5 and mortality.6 Placental formation and cardiometabolic factors play crucial 5
roles in APO development,7, 8 and their pathogenic similarity to CVDs has led to the 6
characterization of pregnancy as a “stress test for CVD.”9 Risk factors for APOs, such as 7
obesity,10 poor sleep quality,11 and poor dietary habits12 are also recognized as risk factors for 8
CVD.13 Therefore, it is expected that similar preventive strategies employed for CVD can be 9
applied to APOs. 10
In 2022, Life’ s Essential 8 (LE8) proposed by the American Heart Association,13 11
which is an approach grounded in cardiovascular health (CVH) for disease prevention and 12
health promotion. This concept emphasizes individual health while addressing existing CVD 13
and associated risk factors. LE8 serves as an operational metric for CVH that includes eight 14
components: diet, physical activity (PA), nicotine exposure, sleep health, body mass index 15
(BMI), blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure (BP). In contrast to Life’s Simple 7 16
(LS7), a prior version of CVH metrics proposed in 2010,13 sleep health was introduced as a 17
new component in 2022, with all eight CVH components being rescaled to continuous 18
variables. To date, over 2,500 studies have referenced original articles describing LS7,13 and 19
evidence on LE8 is growing.14, 15 A meta-analysis revealed associations between CVH, and 20
CVD incidence, CVD mortality, and all-cause mortality.16 Furthermore, these associations 21
have been observed in adolescents and young adults.17 Therefore, we hypothesized that LE8 22
may be relevant in a wide range of APOs due to shared characteristics between CVD and 23
APOs. 24
The integration of LE8 into antenatal care could enhance maternal health. Many 25
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previous studies solely quantified the impact of a single component of CVH, neglecting its 26
complex interconnections. LE8 provides a comprehensive overview of maternal CVH during 27
pregnancy and is useful for assessment in clinical scenarios where a single factor (e.g., 28
smoking cessation) is related to others (e.g., weight gain or poor dietary habits).18 To date, no 29
study has investigated the relationship between LE8 during pregnancy and APOs. However, 30
one study19 exploring the link between LS7, earlier CVH metrics, and APOs demonstrated 31
that improved CVH was associated with better pregnancy outcomes. Notably, this study 32
utilized only five of seven components, and it remains unclear whether a comprehensive 33
CVH assessment using LE8 is beneficial in antenatal care. Furthermore, the clinical 34
significance of psychological health and the social determinants involved in effect 35
modification cannot be overlooked. They have a solid clinical basis and underpin all the CVH 36
metrics, interacting bidirectionally.13, 20, 21 Previous research has revealed that poor CVH was 37
related to depressive symptoms22, 23 and social isolation.24 Another study found an effect 38
modification by CVH on the relationship between socioeconomic status and life 39
expectancy.20 To date, no study has investigated effect modification by psychological health 40
and social determinants on the relationship between CVH and APOs. 41
In this study, we aim to investigate the effect of CVH assessed using LE8 on APOs 42
in 14,930 pregnant Japanese women. We will also explore the effect modification by 43
psychological distress, social isolation, and income. 44
45
Materials and methods
46
Participants 47
Between 2013 and 2017, the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation 48
(TMM BirThree) Cohort Study25, 26 recruited 23,406 pregnant women from more than 50 49
obstetric clinics and hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Participants who withdrew 50
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consent (n=232), those with multiple births (n=313), those who delivered before or at 32 51
weeks of gestation (n=223), those who had their blood samples drawn after 32 weeks of 52
gestation (n=3,724), and those with missing data on delivery status (n=965) were excluded. A 53
cutoff of 32 weeks of gestation was chosen to capture cardiovascular changes on transition 54
from the second to the third trimester and to prevent pregnancy complications from affecting 55
the CVH status. Additionally, this cutoff value aligned with those in previous studies.19, 27 56
Participants that were involved in the TMM BirThree Cohort Study multiple number of times 57
were identified, and only their first valid data were used in this study (n=620). Finally, 58
participants with missing CVH metrics and covariates were excluded (n=3,391), leaving 59
14,930 participants for the main analysis. The study flowchart is detailed in Supplementary 60
Figure 1. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Tohoku Medical 61
Megabank Organization (2013-1-103-1), and all participants provided written informed 62
consent for study participation. 63
64
CVH definitions 65
Dietary quality was assessed using the 8-item Japanese Diet Index, which assesses adherence 66
to the Japanese diet and is related to CVD mortality in the Japanese population.28, 29 Food 67
intake was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire.30 PA, nicotine exposure, and sleep 68
health were assessed during pregnancy using self-reported questionnaires. Pre-pregnancy 69
BMI and BP before 20 weeks of gestation were obtained from medical records during 70
antenatal care. Blood lipid and glucose levels before or at 32 weeks of gestation were 71
determined from blood samples collected in the TMM BirThree Cohort Study.25 Each LE8 72
component was rated on a scale from 0 (least healthy) to 100 (most healthy), with detailed 73
information provided in Supplementary Table 1. The overall CVH score was the unweighted 74
average of all eight components.13 Overall and component CVH scores were used to 75
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categorize participants into three levels: high (80–100), moderate (50–79), and low (0–49), as 76
outlined in the original article.13 77
78
Outcomes 79
APOs were defined as composite outcomes comprising preeclampsia (PE), gestational 80
diabetes mellitus (GDM), preterm birth (PTB), and small for gestational age (SGA), based on 81
their pathophysiological relevance to CVH and their clinical impact.5, 31 A diagnosis of PE 82
was established based on the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 83
guidelines,32 utilizing medical records of antenatal care. GDM was identified from the 84
medical records at delivery. To ascertain PTB and SGA, neonatal gestational age at delivery 85
and birth weight were obtained from medical records at delivery. Additional neonatal 86
outcomes, such as low birth weight (LBW), large for gestational age (LGA), and neonatal 87
intensive care unit (NICU) admission, were identified from the medical records at delivery. 88
89
Covariates 90
Covariates included maternal age at conception (≥35 years old or not), alcohol consumption 91
during pregnancy, conception via in vitro fertilization (IVF), parity (primipara or not), 92
psychological distress during pregnancy, social isolation during pregnancy, and household 93
income (≤4 million yen or not). Age at conception and parity were obtained from medical 94
records during antenatal care, while the remaining variables were self-reported during 95
pregnancy. Psychological distress was evaluated using the Kessler Psychological Distress 96
Scale (K6),33 comprising six items rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The total score ranged 97
from 0 to 24, with a score of ≥9 indicating psychological distress. Social isolation was 98
evaluated using the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-6),34 which consists of six items 99
rated on a 6-point Likert scale. The total score ranged from 0 to 30, with a score of ≤11 100
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indicating social isolation. In addition, the LSNS-6 has two subscales: family and friends. 101
Each subscale score ranged from 0 to 15, and a score of ≤5 was considered social isolation 102
(Supplementary Table 2).34 103
104
Statistical analysis 105
Baseline characteristics, CVH scores, and study outcomes were compared across the overall 106
CVH levels and according to the APO status. Continuous variables were analyzed using 107
analysis of variance or student’s t-test, while categorical variables were analyzed using the 108
chi-square test. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated for all combinations of 109
component CVH scores. 110
The association between overall and component CVH levels and study outcomes 111
was explored using multiple logistic regression analysis, employing high CVH levels as 112
References
and adjusting for covariates. Interactions between overall CVH levels and 113
psychological distress, social isolation, and income levels were examined. Given that a 114
significant interaction was observed with social isolation, further subgroup analyses were 115
conducted for the subscales and each item of the LSNS-6 (Supplementary Table 2). 116
Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results. First, due 117
to some missing values not satisfying the “missing completely at random” assumption,35 we 118
conducted association analyses after imputing missing values in CVH metrics and covariates 119
using multiple imputation by chain equations with five iterations36 in a population of 18,321 120
eligible participants. Second, to rule out the potential of reverse causality between CVH and 121
APOs, association analyses were conducted solely on participants whose blood samples were 122
collected before or at 20 weeks of gestation (Supplementary Figure 2). Third, we excluded 123
participants with pre-pregnancy chronic hypertension (CH) (n=579) or pre-pregnancy 124
diabetes mellitus (DM) (n=71) from the main analysis. This exclusion aimed to prevent an 125
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11
overestimation of the effect of overall CVH on APOs, given the high risk of PE for patients 126
with pre-pregnancy CH and the consequent diagnosis of GDM for those with pre-pregnancy 127
DM. 128
A threshold p-value of <0.05 was adopted for detecting statistical significa nce for the 129
association analyses, while a significance level of P < 0.2 was applied for the interaction 130
term. All analyses were conducted using the R software version 4.1.2. 131
132
Results
133
Among the 14,930 study participants, 2,891 (19.4%), 11,498 (77.0%), and 541 (3.6%) had 134
high, moderate, and low overall CVH levels, respectively (Table 1). Among participants with 135
high, moderate, and low overall CVH levels, 380 (13.1%), 1,772 (15.4%), and 162 (29.9%), 136
respectively, had APOs (Supplementary Table 3). Pregnant women with APOs had lower 137
overall CVH scores as well as lower scores for nicotine exposure, sleep health, BMI, blood 138
glucose, and BP (Supplementary Table 4). As shown in Supplementary Figure 3, CVH scores 139
for individual components were observed to correlate positively with each other. However, 140
significant negative correlations existed between PA and nicotine exposure, PA and sleep 141
health, PA and BMI, and diet and blood glucose CVH scores. 142
In logistic regression analyses with adjustment (Table 2), moderate and low CVH 143
levels were associated with APOs with odds ratios (OR) of 1.17 (95% CI: 1.04–1.32) and 144
2.64 (95% CI: 2.13 to 3.27), respectively (P for trend < 0.001). Low CVH levels were also 145
associated with a higher prevalence of PE, GDM, PTB, LGA, and NICU admission and a 146
lower prevalence of SGA. Using a heatmap, Figure 1 shows the results of logistic regression 147
analyses with adjustments between eight component CVH levels, APOs, and other study 148
outcomes. Low nicotine exposure, BMI, blood glucose, and BP CVH levels were positively 149
associated with APOs. Low sleep health CVH levels, which was newly considered in LE8, 150
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12
were positively associated with GDM, SGA, and LBW, while diet and PA CVH were largely 151
unrelated to the study outcomes. Low BMI, blood lipids, blood glucose, and BP CVH levels 152
tended to be positively associated with the study outcomes, except that low BMI and blood 153
lipids CVH levels were negatively associated with SGA and LBW. 154
Subgroup analyses of psychological distress, social isolation, and income 155
demonstrated that low overall CVH levels had a stronger association with APOs in socially 156
isolated participants (P for interaction = 0.180). OR for APOs was 2.40 (95% CI: 1.86 –3.10) 157
in those not socially isolated and 3.38 (95%CI: 2.20–5.18) in socially isolated participants 158
(Figure 2). Among pregnant women with low CVH levels, the prevalence of APOs at delivery 159
was higher among socially isolated pregnant women (36.4% vs. 27.4%); however, this 160
difference was attenuated among pregnant women with high CVH levels (13.6% vs. 13.1%). 161
Subgroup analyses of each item and subscale of social isolation were conducted, 162
demonstrating that low overall CVH levels were more associated with APOs in participants 163
in the low family subscale (P for interaction = 0.025). For participants with a family subscale 164
score of ≥6, the OR (95% CI) for APOs was 2.45 (1.95–3.09) and 5.15 (2.63–10.10) in 165
participants with a family subscale score of <6 (Figure 3). Analyses of each of the LSNS-6 166
items, on the family and the friend subscale, showed a significant interaction between overall 167
CVH levels and the “Call for help” item in the family subscale. 168
Sensitivity analyses showed results that were largely consistent with those of the 169
main analyses (Supplementary Figures 4-6). 170
171
Comment 172
Principal findings 173
Low overall CVH levels were associated with a higher prevalence of APOs, PE, GDM, PTB, 174
LGA, and NICU admission and a lower prevalence of SGA. The association of low overall 175
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CVH levels with APOs was stronger for socially isolated pregnant women than for pregnant 176
women who were not socially isolated. Among the LSNS-6 items and subscales, participants 177
with low family subscale scores and those who reported having fewer close relatives to whom 178
they could call for help were more affected by low overall CVH levels. 179
180
Results
in the context of what is known 181
Only one previous study has investigated the relationship between CVH and APOs.19 The 182
previous study19 calculated overall CVH status using only five components and demonstrated 183
its relationship with PE, unplanned cesarean section, LGA, sum of skinfolds, and insulin 184
sensitivity. Our results extend these findings and further illustrate the link between overall 185
CVH -comprising all LE8 components- and other clinical outcomes such as PTB and NICU 186
admission. In the previous study,19 high overall CVH levels were positively associated with 187
SGA, primarily through the BMI component, which was difficult to interpret and led to a 188
clinical misinterpretation that “high CVH is a risk factor for SGA”. Our study reported 189
similar results but also showed that a low overall CVH level is a risk factor for APOs and 190
NICU admission. Comprehensively, our findings lend credence to the integration of CVH in 191
antenatal care. Furthermore, the association between sleep health, a new component of LE8, 192
and study outcomes such as GDM, SGA, and LBW suggests that LE8 may be more practical 193
than LS7. 194
Our study demonstrated a more pronounced association between low overall CVH 195
levels and APOs in socially isolated pregnant women. Negative social determinants of health, 196
including social isolation, are well-established risk factors for CVD and mortality in non-197
pregnant people37, 38 and have been identified to influence CVH in pregnant women.39 198
However, the interaction between these factors and CVH remains elusive. Previously, a 199
study20 involving middle-aged and older adults, predominantly Europeans, showed that life 200
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14
expectancy was comparable across socioeconomic strata among participants with optimal 201
CVH but not among those with poor CVH, suggesting that improved CVH could mitigate 202
health inequalities. Our findings are consistent with previous results indicating that pregnant 203
women have a similar risk of APOs regardless of their social isolation status when their CVH 204
improves, underscoring the importance of providing support to this population. Furthermore, 205
our findings suggest that socially isolated pregnant women, particularly those with limited 206
family relationships or fewer close relatives to whom they can call for help, may be more 207
vulnerable to the impact of low CVH. Beyond the general concept of "social isolation," it 208
may be necessary to consider the specific social conditions of pregnant women. 209
Notably, psychosocial distress during pregnancy did not significantly modify the 210
effect of CVH, suggesting that psychological distress and CVH were additively related to 211
APOs. Previous studies have reported a bidirectional relationship between CVH and 212
psychological status, identifying maternal psychological distress as a possible risk factor for 213
poor CVH during pregnancy.40 Also, improvements in CVH from early pregnancy to 6 214
months postpartum have been linked to reduced postpartum depressive symptoms.41 215
Psychological distress has been found to be associated with APOs.42, 43 Therefore, a 216
simultaneous assessment and consideration of both aspects in clinical practice is 217
recommended. 218
219
Clinical implications 220
Assessment of CVH as undertaken by our study has potential implications for clinical 221
practice. Importantly, there is a need to adopt a comprehensive approach to health assessment 222
rather than focusing solely on a specific aspect of health status. Utilizing an index of overall 223
CVH instead of a single CVH component enables clinicians to address complex interactions 224
among risk factors, such as smoking cessation that may lead obesity or exercise habits that 225
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15
may impact the duration of sleep. Particularly for socially isolated pregnant women who 226
demonstrated a heightened vulnerability to low CVH in this study, prioritized access to 227
primary care, lifestyle education, and access to pharmacotherapies is essential. Regardless of 228
social isolation status, the risk of APOs was consistently low in the group with high CVH 229
levels, suggesting that increasing CVH levels in pregnant women may reduce health 230
disparities. 231
232
Research implications 233
Considering the correlation between CVH before and during pregnancy,44 incorporating LE8 234
in conception planning may aid in preventing future APOs. LE8 advocates improvements by 235
lifestyle modification or the use of pharmacotherapy, empowering women to proactively 236
enhance their CVH in preparation for pregnancy. Therefore, we hope that further study will 237
reveal the relationship between pre-conception CVH status and APOs 238
239
Strength and limitations 240
To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first endeavor to investigate the 241
association between CVH assessed by LE8 and APOs. Notably, our study population was 242
approximately five times larger than that in a prior study19 that assessed CVH using LS7. One 243
strength of this study lies in the inclusion of pregnancy outcomes, providing a comprehensive 244
assessment of the clinical importance of CVH. Also, our sensitivity analyses reinforced the 245
robustness of the results. 246
Despite these strengths, our study had some limitations. First, the timing of CVH 247
measurements varied among participants, although all assessments, including questionnaires, 248
blood pressure measurements, and blood samples, were conducted during pregnancy. 249
Consequently, the point at which CVH is most strongly associated with APOs remains 250
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16
unclear. Second, the course of pregnancy may influence behavior during pregnancy, 251
introducing the possibility of reverse causation. Sensitivity analyses in participants with 252
blood samples collected before or at 20 weeks showed results consistent with those of the 253
main analyses, suggesting limited reverse causality related to glucose and lipid status. 254
However, the effects of other conditions, such as PE diagnosis and fetal growth restriction, 255
remain uncertain. Finally, the validity of the LE8 in the Japanese population has not yet been 256
established. Population differences and variations in LE8 definition, such as the use of the 8-257
item Japanese Diet Index vs. the 16 items of Mediterranean Eating Pattern for Americans, 258
may impact the accurate assessment of CVH by LE8. 259
260
Conclusion
261
In conclusion, CVH status may be a useful index for evaluating the risk of APOs. 262
Socially isolated pregnant women are more vulnerable to the effects of low CVH status. 263
264
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17
Acknowledgements
265
The authors would like to thank all the participants who consented to participate in this study 266
and all the staff at Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Iwate 267
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, and Iwate Medical University. 268
A full list of the members of the Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization is available at 269
https://www.megabank.tohoku.ac.jp/english/a230901/. 270
271
Authors' contributions 272
Conceptualization: Hisashi Ohseto, Mami Ishikuro, Geng Chen, Ippei Takahashi 273
Methodology: Hisashi Ohseto, Mami Ishikuro 274
Visualization: Hisashi Ohseto 275
Supervision: Shinichi Kuriyama, Taku Obara 276
Writing – original draft: Hisashi Ohseto, Mami Ishikuro, Geng Chen, Ippei Takahashi 277
Writing – review & editing: All the authors 278
279
Data Sharing Statement 280
Individual data are available upon request after the approval of the Ethical Committee and the 281
Materials
and Information Distribution Review Committee of Tohoku Medical Megabank 282
Organization. 283
284
285
286
287
288
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Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the complete cases in the TMM BirThree Cohort 412
Study by overall CVH levels 413
High overall
CVH
Moderate
overall CVH
Low overall
CVH
n = 2,891 n = 11,498 n = 541 P-value
Advanced maternal age at
conception, % 655 (22.7) 3,092 (26.9) 177 (32.7) <0.001
Low income, % 875 (30.3) 4,237 (36.8) 269 (49.7) <0.001
Alcohol consumption during
pregnancy, % 590 (20.4) 2,303 (20.0) 81 (15.0) 0.012
Psychological distress, % 225 (7.8) 1,237 (10.8) 100 (18.5) <0.001
Social isolation, % 470 (16.3) 2,286 (19.9) 154 (28.5) <0.001
Conception via IVF, % 110 (3.8) 611 (5.3) 33 (6.1) 0.002
Primipara, % 964 (33.3) 4,698 (40.9) 224 (41.4) <0.001
GA at blood sampling, day 125.8 ± 30.2 138.3 ± 33.7 147.8 ± 34.6 <0.001
GA at BP measurement, day 79.2 ± 14.8 79.4 ± 15.4 81.4 ± 14.8 0.006
CVH scores
Overall CVH score 85.0 ± 4.4 67.7 ± 7.3 44.4 ± 5.0 <0.001
Diet score 69.9 ± 26.3 44.2 ± 32.5 22.7 ± 27.5 <0.001
PA score 59.0 ± 45.3 16.7 ± 34.7 6.0 ± 21.9 <0.001
Nicotine exposure score 88.3 ± 21.0 69.3 ± 33.8 33.2 ± 34.2 <0.001
Sleep health score 83.5 ± 21.2 71.2 ± 26.6 48.5 ± 29.9 <0.001
BMI score 96.9 ± 11.3 85.8 ± 26.2 42.4 ± 32.6 <0.001
Blood lipids score 86.0 ± 22.5 65.9 ± 29.3 42.2 ± 26.2 <0.001
Blood glucose score 99.8 ± 2.5 99.3 ± 5.9 93.6 ± 17.4 <0.001
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BP score 96.5 ± 10.5 89.3 ± 18.6 66.9 ± 26.6 <0.001
CVH, cardiovascular health; IVF, in vitro fertilization; GA, gestational age; BP, blood 414
pressure; PA, physical activity; BMI, body mass index. 415
The overall CVH score was used to categorize participants into three groups: high (80–100), 416
moderate (50–79), and low (0–49). 417
Data are shown as mean ± standard deviation for continuous variables and n (%) for 418
categorical variables. 419
P-values were calculated using analysis of variance for continuous variables and the chi-420
square test for categorical variables. 421
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Table 2. Results of logistic regression analyses showing association between overall CVH levels and study outcomes 422
CVH Crude Adjusted
levels OR (95% CI) P-value P for trend OR (95% CI) P-value P for trend
APOs High Reference <0.001 Reference <0.001
Moderate 1.20 (1.07 to 1.36) 0.002 1.17 (1.04 to 1.32) 0.009
Low 2.82 (2.28 to 3.50) <0.001 2.64 (2.13 to 3.27) <0.001
PE High Reference <0.001 Reference <0.001
Moderate 2.06 (1.54 to 2.74) <0.001 1.94 (1.46 to 2.59) <0.001
Low 8.19 (5.69 to 11.81) <0.001 7.43 (5.13 to 10.76) <0.001
GDM High Reference <0.001 Reference <0.001
Moderate 2.25 (1.55 to 3.25) <0.001 2.18 (1.51 to 3.15) <0.001
Low 10.11 (6.47 to 15.80) <0.001 9.18 (5.83 to 14.44) <0.001
PTB High Reference <0.001 Reference 0.002
Moderate 1.27 (1.03 to 1.56) 0.028 1.24 (1.00 to 1.53) 0.047
Low 2.06 (1.41 to 2.99) <0.001 1.93 (1.32 to 2.82) <0.001
SGA High Reference 0.025 Reference 0.017
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Moderate 0.84 (0.71 to 0.98) 0.028 0.83 (0.71 to 0.98) 0.024
Low 0.77 (0.52 to 1.13) 0.178 0.74 (0.50 to 1.09) 0.125
LGA High Reference <0.001 Reference <0.001
Moderate 1.29 (1.11 to 1.50) <0.001 1.26 (1.09 to 1.46) 0.002
Low 2.73 (2.12 to 3.51) <0.001 2.63 (2.04 to 3.40) <0.001
LBW High Reference 0.743 Reference 0.876
Moderate 1.02 (0.88 to 1.19) 0.791 0.99 (0.85 to 1.15) 0.899
Low 1.05 (0.75 to 1.47) 0.781 0.98 (0.70 to 1.37) 0.894
NICU admission High Reference <0.001 Reference 0.001
Moderate 1.35 (1.09 to 1.68) 0.007 1.30 (1.04 to 1.61) 0.020
Low 2.05 (1.39 to 3.02) <0.001 1.88 (1.27 to 2.78) 0.002
CVH, cardiovascular health; APOs, adverse pregnancy outcomes; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; PE, preeclampsia; GDM, gestational 423
diabetes mellitus; PTB, preterm birth; SGA, small for gestational age; LGA, large for gestational age; LBW, low birth weight; NICU, neonatal 424
intensive care unit. 425
ORs and 95% CIs were estimated using logistic regression analyses with high CVH levels as reference. 426
Maternal age at conception, alcohol consumption during pregnancy, conception via in vitro fertilization, parity, psychological distress during 427
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pregnancy, social isolation during pregnancy, and household income were included in the adjusted models.428
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Figure Legends 429
Figure 1. Heatmap showing associations between component CVH levels and study 430
outcomes. 431
The heatmap represents Log transformed ORs from multiple logistic regression analyses 432
between component CVH levels and study outcomes. Adjustments were made for maternal 433
age at conception, alcohol consumption during pregnancy, conception via in vitro 434
fertilization, parity, psychological distress during pregnancy, social isolation during 435
pregnancy, and household income. 436
High CVH levels were references. Red, blue, and grey indicate positive, negative, and no 437
association, respectively. Darker colors indicate stronger associations. The asterisk indicates 438
the p-value. 439
For clarity, extreme Log OR values are presented as 2 or -2 when their absolute values are 2 440
or more. 441
CVH, cardiovascular health; OR, odds ratio; PA, physical activity; BMI, body mass index; 442
BP, blood pressure; APOs, adverse pregnancy outcomes; PE, preeclampsia; GDM, gestational 443
diabetes mellitus; PTB, preterm birth; SGA, small for gestational age; LGA, large for 444
gestational age; LBW, low birth weight; NICU, neonatal intensive care unit. 445
446
Figure 2. Subgroup analyses by psychological distress, social isolation, and income 447
ORs and 95% CIs were calculated using multiple logistic regression analyses between overall 448
CVH levels and APOs, with adjustment for maternal age at conception, alcohol consumption 449
during pregnancy, conception via in vitro fertilization, parity, psychological distress during 450
pregnancy, social isolation during pregnancy, and household income. 451
The "n/N (%)" indicates the number of cases and the total number in that stratum and its 452
ratio. 453
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CVH: cardiovascular health; OR: odds ratio; CI confidence interval. 454
455
Figure 3. Subgroup analyses by subscales and each item in LSNS-6 456
The ORs and 95% CIs were calculated using multiple logistic regression analyses between 457
overall CVH levels and APOs, with adjustment for maternal age at conception, alcohol 458
consumption during pregnancy, conception via in vitro fertilization, parity, psychological 459
distress during pregnancy, social isolation during pregnancy, and household income. 460
The "n/N (%)" indicates the number of cases and the total number in that stratum and its 461
ratio. 462
The details of LSNS-6 were presented in Supplementary Table 2. 463
LSNS, Lubben Social Network Scale; CVH, cardiovascular health; OR, odds ratio; CI, 464
confidence interval. 465
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