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Maternal blood pressure during pregnancy and children's cardiometabolic function: A birth cohort study

Hualong Zhen1, Lu Chen1, Xuemei Hao1

  • 1Department of Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle (Anhui Medical University), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, NHC Key Laboratory of Study on Abnormal Gametes and Reproductive Tract, Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Environment and population Health across the Life Course, Hefei, 230032, China.

Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases : NMCD
|July 12, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Maternal high blood pressure (BP) during pregnancy, particularly in the second and third trimesters, is linked to poorer cardiometabolic health in children. Systolic BP trajectories showed a notable impact on offspring

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Pediatrics
  • Cardiology

Background:

  • Limited evidence exists on how blood pressure (BP) trajectories during pregnancy impact children's cardiometabolic risk (CMR).
  • Understanding this relationship is crucial for early intervention and prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between maternal BP in each trimester and overall BP trajectory during pregnancy with offspring's cardiometabolic function.
  • To identify specific trimesters and BP parameters most influential on children's cardiometabolic health.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 2159 mother-child pairs from the Ma'anshan Birth Cohort.
  • Maternal BP measured antenatally; children's cardiometabolic biomarkers assessed at 4-6 years.
  • Linear and generalized linear models employed to analyze data.

Main Results:

  • Maternal BP in the 1st trimester primarily influenced children's BP.
  • Maternal BP in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters affected children's total CMR, including glucose, lipid metabolism, and BP.
  • High maternal BP trajectories, especially systolic BP (SBP), correlated with increased offspring CMR. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy also linked to higher offspring CMR.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated maternal BP during pregnancy, particularly in later trimesters, may predict adverse cardiometabolic health in offspring.
  • Maternal SBP appears to have a more significant impact on children's cardiometabolism than diastolic BP.
Abstract

Keywords:
Cardiometabolic riskChildrenCohort studyHypertensive disorders of pregnancyMaternal

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