Association between gravidity and risk of metabolic syndrome: Results of Tabari cohort study

Background and aims: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of gravidity and age at first pregnancy with metabolic syndrome in a large-scale, population-based cohort study in Iran.

Methods: The present secondary analysis was conducted on a subset of the population (5739 women with at least one pregnancy) enrolled in the Tabari cohort study. Reproductive history was collected using a structured questionnaire. The relationship of gravidity and age at first pregnancy with metabolic syndrome and its components was analyzed using the logistic regression model.

Results: The results showed that after adjustment for confounding variables, the odds of having metabolic syndrome was not significantly associated with age at first pregnancy (P = 0.269) and gravidity (P = 0.504). However, there was an association between hypertension and age at first pregnancy (OR = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.12-0.82; P = 0.03). Additionally, waist circumference was also associated with gravidity (OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.37-3.35).

Conclusion: As the findings indicated, age at first pregnancy and gravidity were not associated with the odds of having metabolic syndrome. However, a relationship was found between first pregnancy at the age of >35 years and the decreased risk of hypertension. Gravidity was also found to be a dose-dependent risk factor for increased waist circumference.