MATERNAL AGE AT FIRST BIRTH AND RISK OF LATER-LIFE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

• Published in: Innovation in aging Vol. 1; no. suppl_1; p. 744
• Main Authors: Pirkle, C.M., Rosendaal, N.T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 01-07-2017
• Subjects: Abstracts
• ISSN: 2399-5300; 2399-5300
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.2684

Review of the literature on age at first childbirth (AFB) and CVD, including hypothesized causal pathways. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for observational studies published between 1980–2015. Data were extracted using a pre-defined list. 19 publications, reporting on 30 associations, were included in the review, all from high-income settings. Eight of 13 studies that defined young AFB as ≤20 found a positive association between early AFB and CVD, while two reported a positive association between later first childbirth and CVD. Substantial methodological limitations were observed related to: operationalization of risk categories, choice of reference category, sample size, follow-up time and statistical over-adjustment. Only two studies explicitly reported employing a theoretical framework when investigating the relationship. Early AFB is possibly related to CVD. Better conceptualization of causal pathways linking reproductive timing to CVD risk is needed.