Skip to main content
SMFM 2026 Pregnancy Meeting Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Additional registration fee required
Additional registration fee required
Faculty have requested this content not be shared outside of the session
Faculty have requested this content not be shared outside of the session
CME Credit Offered
CME Credit Offered
Abstract Award
Abstract Award
Recording available 2/16-5/2
Recording available 2/16-5/2
AIUM Credit
AIUM Credit
Foundation Awardee
Foundation Awardee
Poster Icons
Abstract Award
Abstract Award
Foundation Awardee
Foundation Awardee

Poster Session 3

Category: Epidemiology

Poster Session 3

(715) The Impact of Selective Serotonin Inhibitor (SSRI) Treatment in Pregnancy on Long-Term Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes

Thursday, February 12, 2026
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM  
Objective:
Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy associated with increased long-term maternal cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Emerging evidence supports a shared pathophysiology between preeclampsia and depression involving serotonergic and vasopressin pathways. We aimed to evaluate whether SSRI use in pregnancy is associated with a reduced risk of future adverse CVD outcomes.

Study Design:
This retrospective cohort study used data from the Intergenerational Health Knowledgebase (IIHK), comprising 11,437 pregnancies with documented PHQ-9 scores. SSRI exposure was defined as an active prescription during pregnancy. The primary outcome was a composite of long-term CVD  diagnoses including atherosclerosis, arrhythmia, valvular disease, cardiomyopathy, and heart failure defined by ICD-10 codes. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate the association between SSRI exposure and adverse CVD outcomes, to adjust for covariates.

Results:
Of 11,437 pregnancies analyzed, a total of 944 individuals experienced adverse CVD. SSRI treatment during pregnancy was associated with a significant reduction in the odds of adverse CVD outcomes after controlling for depression severity, diabetes, age, BMI, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (adjusted OR 0.623; 95% CI: 0.538–0.722; p < 0.001). Independent risk factors for adverse cardiovascular outcomes included hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (aOR 1.68; 95% CI: 1.41–2.00), diabetes (aOR 1.31; 95% CI: 1.09–1.57), and White race (aOR 1.50; 95% CI: 1.27–1.79). Age, BMI, depression severity, and anxiety were not independently associated with CVD risk in adjusted models.


Conclusion:
SSRI use during pregnancy was independently associated with reduced long-term maternal cardiovascular disease risk. Our data demonstrates that treatment of perinatal psychiatric disease with SSRIs may contribute to decreased future CVD risk. Future studies should focus on identifying shared molecular mechanisms for perinatal psychiatric and cardiovascular disease.