A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association offers new insight into the relationship between infertility and cardiovascular disease (CVD), suggesting that ovulatory- or endometriosis-related infertility can be a risk indicator for coronary heart disease (CHD) later in life.[1]
The authors discovered the connection after analyzing data from the Nurses Study II, which followed more than 103,000 female nurses for over nearly 30 years. The women in the study who had reported a history of infertility were 13% more likely to experience a CHD event (physician-diagnosed heart attack, coronary artery bypass grafting, angioplasty, or stent) than those with no infertility history. However, there were no associations between infertility and stroke.
“Clinically, our findings suggest the need to pay attention to female-specific risk factors when studying CHD,” wrote first author Leslie V. Farland, ScD, and coauthors. “If our findings are robustly replicated, then information on reproductive and gynecologic history should be discussed with medical providers to better counsel patients on future CHD risk.”
No increase in CHD risk associated with infertility after age 30
Women who reported experiencing infertility at younger ages saw the highest increases in CVD risk. Those who were age 25 or younger when they first experienced infertility were 26% more likely to experience a CHD event, while those who were between 25 and 30 were just 8% more likely.
Women who were age 30 or over when they first experienced infertility were not significantly more likely to experience a CHD event.
Associations between infertility and CHD for women with a high BMI
To understand the influence of body mass index (BMI) on CHD risk, the study also looked at CHD risk for all women in the Nurses Study II who had a BMI indicating that they were overweight or obese. Among these women, those who had a history of infertility had a 24% greater risk of CHD than those who did not.
“These data also suggest that history of infertility among women with large body size may be a marker of insulin insensitivity and could be a target for early therapeutics or intervention,” the authors wrote.
Read the full study here.