Maternal CVD risk factors according to the delivery of an infant with intrauterine growth restriction vs women who experienced uncomplicated pregnancies
Two studies compared maternal CVD risk factors between women who gave birth to growth restricted infants and women who had uncomplicated pregnancies13, 14 (table 1). Of these one study was conducted on normotensive women who gave birth to growth restricted infants14. Manten and colleagues reported a significantly higher serum total cholesterol level among women who gave birth to infants diagnosed as having IUGR compared to women who had uncomplicated pregnancies but the difference was not significant after excluding women with chronic hypertension, smokers and those with BMI > 30kg/m213 (table 1). Yinon and colleagues compared BMI, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, blood glucose and insulin in women who gave birth to growth restricted infants and those who had uncomplicated pregnancies14. Both studies were included in meta-analyses on BMI, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides13, 14. The pooled analyses showed that women who gave birth to infants diagnosed as having IUGR had significantly higher mean BMI (1.72kg/m2, 95% CI 0.97 to 2.47; 77 participants, heterogeneity: Chi2 P 0.35; I2 = 0%, figure 2A), and higher total mean cholesterol levels (0.32mmol/l, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.50; 77 participants, heterogeneity: Chi2 P 0.69; I2 = 0%) compared to women who had uncomplicated pregnancies (figure 2B)13, 14.