Abstract 16926: Associations of Preeclampsia and Preterm Delivery with Lifetime Posttraumatic Stress

Introduction: Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) are female-specific CVD risk factors while posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a female-predominant CVD risk factor. Preeclampsia and preterm delivery are acute APOs with negative maternal and fetal consequences that, for some, results in trauma. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that individuals with a history of preeclampsia or preterm delivery would be more likely to screen positive for lifetime PTSD. Methods: Parous Nurses’ Health Study II participants who responded to a 2008 questionnaire ascertaining trauma (Brief Trauma Questionnaire, with targeted query of 16 event types) and PTSD (Short Screening Scale for DSM-IV PTSD) comprised the analytic sample (n=40,256). Trauma and PTSD were categorized using four categories: no trauma, trauma with no PTSD symptoms, 1-3 symptoms, or ≥4 symptoms (probable PTSD). Ordered logistic regression, using a cumulative logit link and multinomial distribution, estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for age at enrollment, race/ethnicity, and parental education. Results: Seven percent of participants had a history of preeclampsia (n=3,012) while 13.5% (n=5,418) ever delivered preterm. Twenty-one percent of participants screened positive for PTSD (n=8,336), endorsing ≥4 symptoms from their worst trauma. Among participants with PTSD, 66% of those with preterm preeclampsia in their first pregnancy endorsed having a traumatic pregnancy complication or labor/birth, compared to 23% among those who delivered normotensive first pregnancies at term. Odds of PTSD were higher with history of ever preeclampsia (OR=1.36, CI: 1.27-1.45) or preterm delivery (OR=1.41, CI: 1.34-1.48), compared to only normotensive pregnancies and term deliveries, respectively. Further adjustment for physical or sexual abuse in childhood/adolescence did not change conclusions but did attenuate the odds ratio for preeclampsia (OR=1.26, CI: 1.18-1.35). Conclusions: History of preeclampsia or preterm delivery identifies a population at higher risk for lifetime posttraumatic stress. Further studies are needed to disentangle temporality and examine to what extent subsequent mental health conditions may mediate the relationship between APOs and CVD.