Preeclampsia and Early Stroke Incidence in the California Teachers Study

Background: Preeclampsia (PEC) occurs in 3-8% of all pregnancies and doubles women’s long-term stroke risk. Prospective data are limited regarding the rate at which this risk develops. We hypothesized that history of PEC would increase risk of early stroke (ES), defined as stroke before age 60 without concurrent PEC, in women in the California Teachers Study (CTS), and that the risk would be modified by aspirin or statin use. Methods: CTS participants aged ≤60 years with no prior stroke at time of enrollment in 1995 were included in this analysis. Baseline characteristics and medical and gynecological history were obtained by serial questionnaires. Participants were followed prospectively and stroke outcomes obtained via linkage with California hospital records through 12/31/2012. Poisson regression was used to calculate relative risk of ES incidence, among those with and without history of PEC, in unadjusted and adjusted models. We used stratified analyses to assess risk of ES in women with and without s...