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Prenatal exposure to essential metals and blood pressure at preschool age: A birth cohort study

Caifang Xu1, Shiwei Jiang2, Hualin Wang2

  • 1Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Institute for Developmental and Regenerative Cardiovascular Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
|March 2, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Maternal exposure to essential metals is linked to lower offspring blood pressure (BP). Lower maternal magnesium levels were associated with higher risk of high blood pressure (HBP) in children.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Prenatal Toxicology

Background:

  • Prenatal exposure to environmental factors can influence long-term child health outcomes.
  • Essential metals play crucial roles in fetal development, but their impact on offspring blood pressure is not fully understood.
  • Understanding these associations can inform public health strategies for preventing childhood hypertension.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between prenatal exposure to essential metals and offspring blood pressure (BP) at preschool age.
  • To examine the combined effects of prenatal metal exposures on offspring BP.
  • To assess the relationship between essential metals and high blood pressure (HBP) in offspring.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from a birth cohort study of 1113 mother-child pairs.
  • Generalized linear regression models for individual metal-BP associations.
  • Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) and weighted quantile sum regression (WQS) for combined metal effects.
  • Logistic regression for essential metals and HBP associations.

Main Results:

  • Maternal magnesium (Mg) concentrations showed a negative association with offspring BP.
  • Combined analysis using BKMR and WQS also indicated a negative association between maternal essential metals mixtures and offspring BP.
  • Lower quartiles of maternal Mg were linked to a significantly higher odds ratio (4.27) for offspring HBP.
  • No significant associations were found for other essential metals or umbilical cord blood metal concentrations.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal essential metal mixtures, not umbilical cord blood levels, are negatively associated with offspring BP.
  • Lower maternal magnesium levels are a risk factor for higher prevalence of HBP in preschool-aged offspring.
  • These findings highlight the importance of maternal essential metal status in influencing offspring cardiovascular health.
Abstract

Keywords:
Blood pressureChildhood high blood pressureEssential metalsPrenatal expose

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