California Study Finds Sharp Differences in Pregnancy Hypertension Risk Across Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Subgroups

Overview

• A Journal of the American Heart Association analysis reviewed 772,688 California births from 2007 to 2019 across 15 self-identified Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups.
• The overall frequency of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy ranged from 3.7% in Chinese individuals to 13% in Guamanian individuals.
• Adjusted risks were two to three times higher for Filipino and several Pacific Islander groups, including Filipino aRR 2.66 for chronic hypertension and Guamanian up to 3.66 for chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia.
• Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese individuals generally did not show elevated risk compared with the Chinese reference group.
• Authors note limits including reliance on diagnostic codes, California-only data and the inability to assess pandemic-era or environmental factors, indicating a need for broader research.