{
  "id": 28302,
  "title": "Adverse pregnancy outcomes and long-term risk of peripheral artery disease: A cohort study",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/21/adverse-pregnancy-outcomes-and-long-term-risk-of-peripheral-artery",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-07-21T14:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PLOS Medicine",
    "slug": "plos-medicine",
    "url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004821"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new study reveals that women who experienced certain pregnancy complications have a higher risk of developing peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the years following childbirth. The research, conducted by a team of Swedish researchers, analyzed data from over 2 million women who gave birth in Sweden between 1973 and 2015. The study found that all five major adverse pregnancy outcomes - preterm delivery, small for gestational age, preeclampsia, other hypertensive disorders, and gestational diabetes - were linked to an increased risk of PAD. At 30-46 years after delivery, women with gestational diabetes were found to have a 3.83 times higher risk of developing PAD (95% confidence interval [3.20, 4.59]; p < 0.001), while those with preterm delivery had a 1.58 times higher risk (95% confidence interval [1.48, 1.70]; p < 0.001). The researchers adjusted their analysis to account for various maternal factors, such as age, parity, socioeconomic status, and pre-existing health conditions. Additionally, the study used co-sibling analyses to rule out potential confounding factors due to shared genetic or environmental influences. The findings highlight the importance of early preventive measures and long-term clinical follow-up for women who have experienced adverse pregnancy outcomes, as they may face a heightened risk of PAD and other cardiovascular diseases later in life.",
  "summary": "by Casey Crump, Jingkai Wei, Jan Sundquist, Kristina Sundquist Background Women with adverse pregnancy outcomes have higher subsequent cardiovascular risks, but their long-term risks of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and potential causality are unclear. A better understanding of such risks is needed to improve early risk stratification, clinical care, and long-term cardiovascular health. We…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}