B4461 - Maternal Epigenetic age Interpregnancy Interval and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes - 15/11/2023
The length of time between birth and beginning of subsequent pregnancy, interpregnancy interval (IPI) is associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in subsequent pregnancy, among others, preterm births, low birth weight and preeclampsia. It has also been identified as a potentially modifiable risk factors for these outcomes for planned pregnancies.
Our recent study has indicated that long IPIs (>60 months) are associated with an increased risk of complications that exceed the effects of short intervals (<6 months) after careful confounder control by matching pregnancies to the same women [1,2]. Moreover, another study, which examined the non-linear relationship between IPI and pregnancy complications by maternal age indicated that the risk of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes was greater for older mothers following long IPI. [3] However, the causal interpretations of the long IPI association remain challenging as the possibility of residual confounding cannot be ruled out.
Current guidelines on pregnancy spacing may be misinformed, overlooking the age-related risks of delayed pregnancy because pregnancy delay naturally increases maternal age. Unfortunately, there is limited research on this topic, with only two relevant studies found, [3.4] neither addressing the independent effects of biological aging, or the partition effect of pregnancy spacing (time to pregnancy, TTP and waiting) on adverse pregnancy outcomes.