Association of Early-life Trauma With Gestational Diabetes and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.

BACKGROUND

Early-life trauma (before age of 18 years) is hypothesized to increase the risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes through stress pathways, yet epidemiologic findings are mixed.

METHODS

Sister Study participants (US women aged 35-74 years enrolled 2003-2009) completed an adapted Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey at the first follow-up visit. Lifetime history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP: pregnancy-related high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia/toxemia, or eclampsia) in pregnancies lasting ≥20 weeks was self-reported. We used log-binomial regression to estimate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between early-life trauma (modeled using conventional measures [e.g., any experience, substantive domains, individual types] and latent classes of co-occurring traumas) and GDM or HDP among 34,879 parous women.

RESULTS

Approximately, 4% of participants reported GDM and 11% reported HDP. Relative to no early-life trauma, the RRs for any were 1.1 (95% CI = 1.0, 1.3) for GDM and 1.2 (95% CI = 1.2, 1.3) for HDP. Women reporting physical trauma had the highest risk of GDM and HDP in comparison to other substantive domains. In analyses using latent classes of early-life trauma, high trauma was associated with an elevated risk of both GDM (RR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.5, 2.6) and HDP (RR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.4, 2.0) compared with low trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

Women experiencing high levels of trauma in early life were at higher risk of GDM and HDP, adding to a growing evidence base for this association.