Recent research has shed light on the potential impact of pregnancy complications on the future heart health of children. The study, presented at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine’s annual pregnancy meeting, revealed that children born to mothers with conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes during pregnancy are more prone to developing heart-related issues at a young age.

According to the findings, by the age of 12, these children have a higher likelihood of being overweight and being diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or high blood sugar compared to children whose mothers had complication-free pregnancies. While the study emphasizes the correlation between healthy pregnancies and child health, it falls short of establishing a cause-and-effect relationship.

The research, supported by the government, has been tracking 3,300 mother-and-child pairs globally for over a decade. The study’s abstract was published in a supplement to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in January.

Dr. Kartik K. Venkatesh, the paper’s first author and an obstetrician and perinatal epidemiologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, highlighted the potential long-term implications of these findings. He pointed out that these children may face a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, which could perpetuate a cycle as they grow into adulthood and potentially face similar complications during their own pregnancies.