Maternal hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and self-reported cognitive impairment of the offspring 70 years later: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

Abstract

Objective: We tested whether maternal hypertensive disorders during pregnancy predict self-reported cognitive impairment, which is one of the earliest behavioral markers of dementia, of the offspring 70 years later.

Study design: We included 876 participants of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study 1934-44 who were born after normotensive, preeclamptic, or hypertensive pregnancies that were defined by the use of the mother's blood pressure and urinary protein measurements at maternity clinics and birth hospitals. The participants completed a psychological questionnaire that included questions on cognitive failures and dysexecutive functioning at an average age of 69.3 ± 3.1 (SD) years.

Results: In comparison with the offspring who were born after normotensive pregnancies, the offspring who were born after preeclamptic pregnancies reported more frequent complaints of cognitive failures, distractibility, and false triggering. Further, among women we found maternal hypertension without proteinuria that was associated with more frequent complaints of cognitive failures, forgetfulness, and false triggering.

Conclusion: Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy are associated with more frequent subjective complaints of cognitive failures of the offspring in old age.