The Busuttil Family Research Prize in Medical Science awarded to NPEU DPhil Student

Published on Wednesday, 01 April 2026 Post

NPEU DPhil Student, Ling Tao, first author of a recently published article entitled 'Incidence, prevalence, and mortality of maternal cardiac disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis' published at The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health, has been awarded The Busuttil Family Research Prize in Medical Sciences for an outstanding presentation of research by Linacre College on 12 March 2026.

Ling's presentation 'Unequal Burdens of Heart Disease in Pregnancy Worldwide' is part of the published paper mentioned above.

This systematic review and meta-analysis provides the first global synthesis comparing maternal heart disease morbidity and mortality in high-income countries (HICs) and low- or middle-income countries (LMICs).

Researchers reviewed 114 studies and found that the prevalence of maternal cardiac disease is higher in LMICs than in HICs. The types also differ: in HICs, arrhythmias are most common, followed by congenital heart disease and valvular heart disease; while in LMICs rheumatic heart disease is highest. Maternal mortality due to cardiac disease in HICs is 2 per 100,000 women giving birth. There was however, a high variation between studies, likely due to differences in definitions and data sources. It also exposes major gaps in data, particularly from LMICs.

More research is needed to draw a clearer picture of maternal heart disease to guide future action.