Placental Growth Factor and Female Long-Term Hypertension

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular disease research
• Reproductive health
• Biomarker discovery

Background:

• Placental growth factor (PlGF) is a known predictor of pregnancy complications like preeclampsia.
• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment in women often occurs later in life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if placental growth factor (PlGF) measured post-pregnancy can predict cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in young women.
• To evaluate PlGF as a potential biomarker for hypertension in women without current pregnancy complications.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study (Generation R) with 5077 women, using post-pregnancy measurements as baseline.
• Assessment of PlGF, blood pressure (BP), pulse wave velocity, retinal vessel calibre, and cardiac function over 8 years post-baseline.
• Evaluation of intimal media thickness (IMT) and post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia index (PORH index).

Main Results:

• PlGF showed a positive association with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at 4 and 8 years post-baseline.
• These associations remained significant regardless of pregnancy complication history.
• No significant associations were found between PlGF and retinal measurements, echocardiographic outcomes, IMT, or PORH index.

Conclusions:

• Placental growth factor (PlGF) is associated with elevated blood pressure levels in women.
• PlGF may serve as a predictive biomarker for hypertension.
• Further validation in independent cohorts is recommended to confirm these findings.