Comparative risks of cerebrovascular and heart disease in women with infertility: A retrospective cohort study

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Fertility Preservation Through Oocyte Vitrification: Clinical and Laboratory Perspectives
08:46

Fertility Preservation Through Oocyte Vitrification: Clinical and Laboratory Perspectives

Published on: September 16, 2021

Ji-Ze Hsu1, Dah-Ching Ding2,3

  • 1Department of Medical Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan.

International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics: the Official Organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics
|July 21, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Infertility is linked to a higher long-term risk of cardiovascular diseases, including cerebrovascular disease and ischemic heart disease, in women. This highlights the need for increased awareness and monitoring for heart health in infertile populations.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular epidemiology
  • Reproductive health
  • Public health

Background:

  • Infertility is increasingly recognized as a potential indicator of underlying cardiovascular risk in women.
  • Shared pathophysiological mechanisms like chronic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction link infertility and cardiovascular disease.
  • Understanding this association is crucial for long-term women's health management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between infertility and the long-term risk of major cardiovascular outcomes.
  • To assess risks for cerebrovascular disease (CeVD), heart failure (HF), and ischemic heart disease (IHD) in women with infertility.
  • To analyze these risks within a large, nationwide, population-based cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (2000-2021).
  • Included women aged 18-50 years, comparing infertility cases with matched controls (1:4 age, 1:1 propensity score matching).
  • Employed Cox proportional hazards models to assess risks (HRs with 95% CIs) for a composite outcome of CeVD, HF, and IHD, with subgroup analyses by age.

Main Results:

  • Included 39,337 women with infertility and 157,348 controls.
  • Infertility was associated with a significantly higher risk of the composite cardiovascular outcome (PS-matched HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.10-1.26).
  • Increased risks for CeVD and IHD were observed, with notable trends in women aged 35-50 years.

Conclusions:

  • Infertility is associated with modestly increased long-term risks of cerebrovascular disease and ischemic heart disease.
  • Age-specific patterns were observed, particularly for cerebrovascular disease.
  • Emphasizes the importance of cardiovascular health awareness and monitoring in the long-term follow-up of women experiencing infertility.
Abstract

Keywords:
cardiovascular diseasecerebrovascular diseaseinfertilityischemic heart diseaseretrospective

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