TY - JOUR
T1 - Association of infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss with the risk of dementia
AU - Liang, Chen
AU - Dobson, Annette J.
AU - Chung, Hsin Fang
AU - van der Schouw, Yvonne T.
AU - Sandin, Sven
AU - Weiderpass, Elisabete
AU - Mishra, Gita D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/7
Y1 - 2024/7
N2 - Emerging evidence has shown the association between female reproductive histories (e.g., menarche age, parity, premature and early menopause) and the risk of dementia. However, little attention has been given to infertility and pregnancy loss. To examine the associations of infertility, recurrent miscarriages, and stillbirth with the risk of dementia, this study used data from four cohorts in the International Collaboration for a Life Course Approach to Reproductive Health and Chronic Disease Events. Women with data on at least one of the reproductive exposures of interest, dementia, and all covariates were included. Histories of infertility, miscarriage, and stillbirth were self-reported. Dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) was identified through surveys, aged care, pharmaceutical, hospital, and death registry data. Cause-specific Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios of dementia, accounting for well-established risk factors of dementia, study variability, and within-study correlation. Overall, 291,055 women were included at a median (interquartile range) age of 55.0 (47.0–62.0) at baseline. During the median (interquartile range) follow-up period of 13.0 (12.0–14.0) years, 3334 (1.2%) women developed dementia. Compared to women without stillbirth, a history of recurrent stillbirths (≥ 2) was associated with 64% higher risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.64, 95% confidence interval: 1.46–1.85). Compared to women without miscarriage, women with recurrent miscarriages (≥ 3) were at 22% higher risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.22, 95% confidence interval: 1.19–1.25). These findings suggest that recurrent stillbirths is a risk factor for dementia and may need to be considered in risk assessment of dementia in women.
AB - Emerging evidence has shown the association between female reproductive histories (e.g., menarche age, parity, premature and early menopause) and the risk of dementia. However, little attention has been given to infertility and pregnancy loss. To examine the associations of infertility, recurrent miscarriages, and stillbirth with the risk of dementia, this study used data from four cohorts in the International Collaboration for a Life Course Approach to Reproductive Health and Chronic Disease Events. Women with data on at least one of the reproductive exposures of interest, dementia, and all covariates were included. Histories of infertility, miscarriage, and stillbirth were self-reported. Dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) was identified through surveys, aged care, pharmaceutical, hospital, and death registry data. Cause-specific Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios of dementia, accounting for well-established risk factors of dementia, study variability, and within-study correlation. Overall, 291,055 women were included at a median (interquartile range) age of 55.0 (47.0–62.0) at baseline. During the median (interquartile range) follow-up period of 13.0 (12.0–14.0) years, 3334 (1.2%) women developed dementia. Compared to women without stillbirth, a history of recurrent stillbirths (≥ 2) was associated with 64% higher risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.64, 95% confidence interval: 1.46–1.85). Compared to women without miscarriage, women with recurrent miscarriages (≥ 3) were at 22% higher risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.22, 95% confidence interval: 1.19–1.25). These findings suggest that recurrent stillbirths is a risk factor for dementia and may need to be considered in risk assessment of dementia in women.
KW - Cohort study
KW - Dementia
KW - Infertility
KW - Miscarriage
KW - Stillbirth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85196271650&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10654-024-01135-3
DO - 10.1007/s10654-024-01135-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 38888679
AN - SCOPUS:85196271650
SN - 0393-2990
VL - 39
SP - 785
EP - 793
JO - European Journal of Epidemiology
JF - European Journal of Epidemiology
IS - 7
ER -