Pregnancy involves major cardiovascular adaptations, yet its long-term impact on maternal brain health remains poorly understood. The American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) and Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) are validated tools to assess cardiovascular and brain health, but their use in obstetric populations is limited. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we searched three databases (2010–2024) for studies assessing ≥ 1 LS7/LE8 component during pregnancy with mid- or later-life cognitive or dementia outcomes; narrative synthesis and meta-analyses were conducted where feasible. Of 3940 screened abstracts, 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most examined hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), few assessed diabetes independently, and none evaluated the full LS7/LE8 construct. Meta-analyses showed that HDP was associated with increased risk of all-cause dementia (HR 1.34; 95% CI 1.11–1.62) and vascular dementia (HR 1.76; 95% CI 1.03–3.00; n = 3 studies), but not Alzheimer’s disease (HR 1.22; 95% CI 0.96–1.56). Although LS7/LE8 are established frameworks for cardiovascular and brain health, their application during pregnancy remains limited. Integrating LE8 into obstetric care may enable earlier identification of individuals at risk for later-life cognitive decline and inform strategies to promote maternal brain health across the lifespan.
Singh et al. (2026) studied this question.