Smoking and pre-term birth linked to cardiovascular risk in mums

Mothers who smoke and have a pre-term birth more than triple their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) new research has revealed. Researchers from the University of Sydney at Royal North Shore Hospital in New South Wales, Australia, looked at data relating to more than 900,000 mothers. They found the risk of maternal CVD increased in a dose response relationship with the number and severity of pre-term births. The study looked at data from 1994 to 2011, considering the mother’s subsequent hospital admission for CVD or death from CVD. Analyses were conducted to compare the risk for CVD among mothers classified