Hypertension and
prehypertension may have important roles in the etiology of
cardiovascular disease. However, the risk factors of
hypertension and
prehypertension have not been thoroughly elucidated to date. This study intended to explore the relative effects between reproductive history and the prevalence of
hypertension and
prehypertension. A population-based cross-sectional survey of postmenopausal women (n=6252), aged 41-93 years, was conducted from August 2013 to August 2015. All subjects, selected by the multistage random sampling method in Henan province, were categorized as normotension,
prehypertension and
hypertension according to blood pressure (BP) levels. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to estimate the risks of
prehypertension and
hypertension with three categories of BP as dependent variables.
Hypertension was associated with a positive history of
induced abortion (adjusted odds ratio (OR)=1.190, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.020, 1.388), but there was no association between
hypertension and a positive history of
spontaneous abortion (adjusted OR=1.126, 95% CI: 0.973, 1.303) after adjusting for age, alcohol consumption, education status, smoking, body mass index, physical activity and occupation. Compared with women with one or no children, those with two or three children were at a lower risk of
hypertension (adjusted OR=0.605, 95% CI: 0.434, 0.845). In addition, individuals with an age of menopause between 46 and 51 years may have a decreased risk of both
prehypertension and
hypertension, especially in terms of systolic BP. In conclusion, a positive history of
induced abortion may be a predictive risk factor for
hypertension and
prehypertension. However, a menopausal age of 46-51 years or having two children may be protective factors against
hypertension and
prehypertension.