A small study has shown that elevated levels of cholesterol in pregnancy could cause more serious heart problems in adult offspring. If more in-depth research confirms this connection, it would indicate a warning sign. According to the study authors, the new findings could encourage women to exercise more and theirReduce fat intake. In addition, affected children could receive nutritional and lifestyle advice to prevent heart disease later in life.
How cholesterol affects the embryo during pregnancy
The research team collected data on maternal cholesterol levels during the first and second trimesters for all 310 study participants. The average age of the 89 heart attack patients was also 47 years, with 84% of them being men. The authors observed that cholesterol in pregnancy was significantly correlated with every measure of heart attack severity. In a second analysis, they also examined the link between maternal cholesterol levels and atherosclerosis in adult offspring. Pregnant women's scores correlated significantly with both measures of atherosclerosis risk, even after adjusting for age, gender and cardiovascular risk factors. Because measurements of atherosclerosis were not available for most controls, two surrogate measurements were used. These were: 1) number of cardiovascular risk factors; and 2) number of cardiovascular risk factors plus clinical manifestations such as myocardial infarction or stroke.
The researchers' observations suggest that a mother's cholesterol levels during pregnancy influence the developmental programming of offspring and the severity of heart attack in adulthood. However, this research does not establish causality. This also does not allow scientists to estimate how much maternal cholesterol may contribute to the severity of the heart attack. The authorsthis studytherefore concluded that further prospective research is needed to better assess the extent. This may provide evidence that high cholesterol in pregnancy may influence the development of atherosclerosis in offspring and the combined effect of risk factors throughout life.
