Mothers who give birth to offspring with low birth weight may have increased risk for cardiovascular death

Commentary on : Morken NH, Halland F, DeRoo LA, et al . Offspring birthweight by gestational age and parental cardiovascular mortality: a population-based cohort study. BJOG 2018;125:336–41. Evidence from several population studies suggests that complications in pregnancy, such as preeclampsia and low birth weight in the offspring, may serve as markers of future disease for the mother.1 2 Paternal factors may play a role in the partner’s risk of preeclampsia and in offspring growth.3 Several of the pregnancy complications that have been associated with increased risk of future disease in the mother are interrelated. For instance, low crude birth weight is related to preterm birth.2 Thus, the associations of low birth weight with increased risk of cardiovascular disease may have been confounded by the short …