Korean J Fam Med.  2015 Nov;36(6):341-348. 10.4082/kjfm.2015.36.6.341.

Association between Parity and Blood Pressure in Korean Women: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2010-2012

• Jang M
• Lee Y
• Choi J
• Kim B
• Kang J
• Kim Y
• Cho S

• KMID: 2235227
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.2015.36.6.341

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Pregnancy considerably alters cardiovascular dynamics, and thereby affects the transition of blood pressure after delivery in women. We aimed to analyze the association between parity and blood pressure in Korean adult women.
METHODS
We included 8,890 women who participated in Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2010 and 2012. We divided the population according to the menopause status and analyzed the association between parity and blood pressure by using multiple regression analysis, and on hypertension, by using logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS
Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly associated with parity in premenopausal women (beta=-0.091 [P<0.001] and beta=-0.069 [P<0.001], respectively). In the analysis that excluded women receiving antihypertensive medication, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of postmenopausal women were significantly associated with parity (beta=-0.059 [P=0.022] and beta=-0.054 [P=0.044], respectively). Parity was found to prevent hypertension after adjustment for confounders in postmenopausal women (odds ratio, 0.55; 95% confidence interval, 0.310-0.985).
CONCLUSION
We found that parity prevented hypertension in Korean women.

Keyword

Parity; Blood Pressure; Hypertension; Menopause

MeSH Terms

Adult
Blood Pressure*
Female
Humans
Hypertension
Logistic Models
Menopause
Nutrition Surveys*
Parity*
Pregnancy