Associations of maternal gestational hypertension with high blood pressure and overweight/obesity in their adolescent offspring: a retrospective cohort study

Maternal hypertensive disorders during pregnancy may have an impact on fetal development and the health of the offspring in later life. The aim of the study was to evaluate the associations of maternal gestational hypertension (GH) with high blood pressure (HBP) (prehypertension/hypertension) and overweight/obesity in their adolescent offspring at the age of 12 to 15 years. We analyzed data of 4819 participants born in Kaunas city during 1995–1998 who were included in the study “Prevalence and Risk Factors of HBP in 12–15-Year-Old Lithuanian Children and Adolescents”. The diagnosis of maternal gestational hypertension was obtained from medical records. Associations of maternal GH with their offspring’s HBP and overweight/obesity in adolescence were assessed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Among 4819 adolescents of 12–15 years of age, 25.7% had HBP, 12% had overweight, and 2.5% had obesity. Of 4819 mothers, 92.3% were normotensive during pregnancy, and 7.7% had GH. In the multivariate analysis after adjustment for age, sex, birth weight, adolescent BMI, and maternal pre/early pregnancy BMI, adolescent offspring born to mothers with GH had higher odds of prehypertension, hypertension, and prehypertension/hypertension (aOR 1.58; 95% CI 1.13–2.22; aOR 1.87; 95% CI 1.41–2.47; and aOR 1.76, 95% CI 1.39–2.24; respectively), compared to the offspring of normotensive mothers. After adjustment for age, sex, birth weight, and maternal pre/early pregnancy BMI, a significant association was found between maternal GH and the offspring’s overweight/obesity in adolescence (aOR 1.41; 95% CI 1.04–1.91). The findings of this study suggest that maternal GH is associated with an increased odds of HBP (prehypertension and hypertension, both separately and combined) and overweight/obesity in their offspring during adolescence.