From Mother to Child: Does Pregnancy-Related Hypertension Seed Future Risk?

Many people with high blood pressure have family histories of essential hypertension, but does pregnancy-related hypertension confer risk across generations? Here, data were obtained from maternal participants in the Collaborative Perinatal Project (1959–1966) and their offspring (2001–2004). Maternal pregnancy-related hypertension was defined as either gestational hypertension or preeclampsia. A total of 1556 offspring (median age, 39) reported whether they had ever received diagnoses of or treatment for hypertension.

In all, 98 offspring (6.3%) were born of hypertension-complicated pregnancies, and 264 offspring (17.0%) reported ever receiving diagnoses of hypertension. Analysis adjusted for potential confounders (offspring sex; maternal r…