Association of a History of Preterm Delivery With Stroke Risk in the Black Women's Health Study

In this prospective study of Black women, preterm delivery was associated with a 23% higher risk of long-term stroke. This study was limited by lack of detailed information on each pregnancy over the life course of Black women. Most of the BWHS participants were already parous at the time of enrollment in 1995. Information on the reasons for preterm delivery, timing and number of preterm deliveries, and prepregnancy risk factors is lacking. Our validation study on stroke was conducted among a small and nonrandom sample of participants who provided medical records. The negative predictive value of self-reported stroke was not assessed. The higher rate of preterm delivery likely contributes to the higher burden of stroke among Black women.