Women with higher levels of essential minerals circulating in their blood during pregnancy, particularly copper and manganese, together with vitamin B12, had a lower risk of developing high blood pressure in medium age, approximately 20 years later, according to an investigation presented in the epidemiology and prevention of the American Heart Association | The lifestyle and cardiometabolic health Scientific sessions 2025. The meeting will be held in New Orleans, from March 6 to 9, 2025, and offers the latest science on health and well -being based on the population and implications for lifestyle. According to the authors of the study, it is the first to explore the associations of pregnancy metal levels with the blood pressure of the median women of women and the risk of hypertension, and the complete manuscript is published simultaneously today in the magazine reviewed by pairs of the American Heart Association Hypertension.
Manganese, selenium, magnesium and copper are among the important essential metals for a healthy body because its antioxidant and anti -inflammatory properties can help protect against cardiovascular disease. Previous investigations have found that the highest levels of manganese were associated with a lower risk of preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy). However, it is not known if the highest levels of essential metals during pregnancy can influence the risk of developing high blood pressure later in life. In addition, chronic exposure to non -essential leadership, cadmium and arsenic is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the scientific statement of the association “polluting metals such as cardiovascular risk factors”.
“People are constantly exposed to heavy metals and trace elements, and many investigations have shown that exposure to these metals and elements can have an impact on cardiovascular health, especially hypertension,” said the main study author Mingyu Zhang, Ph.D., MHS, an epidemiologist and instructor in Medicine in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, both in both in The School of Medicine B Everything, by Boston. “In our study, we wanted to examine how metal levels and essential elements during pregnancy can affect the risk of blood pressure and hypertension in the middle age.”
The researchers analyzed the data of the living project, a long -term continuous study that began in 1999 of women and their children living in East Massachusetts. Almost 500 women enrolled in the study during early pregnancy, between 1999 and 2002. Researchers measured concentrations of non -essential metals (arsenic, barium, cadmium, cesium, mercury and lead), essential minerals (copper, magnesium, manganese, selenium and zinc), folate and vitamin B12 in blood samples collected during the study.
After almost twenty years of monitoring, the researchers made a “medium age” study visit between 2017 and 2021 with the study participants, who now were a median age of 51.2 years. The researchers measured blood pressure to assess possible individual metal associations with blood pressure and high risk of blood pressure. The participants were classified as they had high blood pressure if blood pressure measures were greater than 130/80 mm Hg or if the participants confirmed to take antihypertensive medications. In addition, the possible collective effects of all eleven metals and two micronutrients on blood pressure were analyzed.
The study found:
- After the researchers adjusted by sociodemographic factors, since copper and manganese levels doubled in the blood during pregnancy, the risk of high blood pressure in the middle age was 25% and 20% lower, respectively.
- As vitamin B12 blood levels doubled during pregnancy, women had a lower systolic blood pressure than 3.64 mm Hg and a lower diastolic blood pressure of 2.52 mm Hg almost two decades later. About 95% of study participants had vitamin B12 levels within the normal range, the researchers said.
- The blood levels of the copper, manganese, selenium and zinc mixture were also associated with lower blood pressure in a relationship that increased with the dose. Non -essential metals did not have a significant impact on blood pressure.
“The circulating levels of these metals and minerals in the blood were measured, however, the sources of exposure, such as food or dietary supplements, were not quantified, so these findings should not be interpreted as recommendations,” said Zhang. “Optimize these essential metals, minerals and vitamins, particularly copper, manganese and vitamin B12, during pregnancy can offer protective benefits against hypertension in medium age, a period of time especially critical for the future cardiovascular risk of women in later life.”
“More research is needed, including clinical trials to determine the optimal dietary intake of these minerals and micronutrients,” he added. Researchers ultimately identify women with high risk of developing high blood pressure later in life and intervene during pregnancy, either with improved nutrition or supplements.
Study details, background and design:
- The analysis included 493 women registered in the living project, a prospective study that examines the effects of environmental and lifestyle factors during short and long -term health pregnancy of women and their children.
- The living project registered women at the beginning of pregnancy between 1999 and 2002. Women had an average age of 32.9 years in registration. The participants were followed for 18.1 years, until 2021.
- 72% of self -identified participants as white women; 11% self -identified as black women; and 17% self -identified as Hispanic or Latin, Asian or island of the Pacific, American or native Alaska, or selected “another” race, more than one race or “do not know.”
- Blood samples were collected in the study registration and stored in freezers for subsequent analyzes. The researchers agreed to blood samples and analyzed them for this study in 2018. Folate and vitamin B12 were also measured in blood plasma samples during pregnancy.
- The blood pressure was measured in the study participants during a visit to the study of “medium age” (medium age of 51 years) between 2017 and 2021. During this visit, the trained research assistants measured the blood pressure of the participants up to five times, at one minute intervals. Blood pressure measurements were averaged.
- The analyzes were adjusted for maternal age in the registration of the study, the body mass index prior to pregnancy, race and ethnic origin, education, home income, parity (the number of pregnancies carried out), the use of antihypertensive medications, dash diet score in early pregnancy and multivitamin intake.
The limitations of the study include that it was an observation study, which means that other confusion factors that were not measured in the study may have affected the results; The researchers only included a subset of the original participants of the living project; and there were demographic differences between participants included and excluded. In addition, researchers had no measurements for metal levels between delivery and median age; And the participants were predominantly white women who resided in the east of Massachusetts, which can limit the generalization of the study findings.