Diet gun

Pregnant women whose blood contains higher levels of vitamin B12, manganese and copper may face a lower risk of high blood pressure nearly two decades after giving birth.

A cohort study that began in 1999 and ended in 2021 examined blood samples collected between 1999 and 2002 during the early stages of women’s pregnancies for arsenic, barium, cadmium, cesium, mercury, lead, copper, magnesium, manganese, selenium, zinc, folate and vitamin B12.

Between 2017 and 2021, researchers remeasured the blood pressure of the participants, who were then an average of 51 years old.

For women whose blood copper levels doubled during pregnancy, their risk of high blood pressure at age 50 was 25% lower.

For women whose blood manganese levels doubled during pregnancy, their risk of high blood pressure at age 50 was 20% lower.

When the combination of copper, manganese, selenium and zinc was examined, the higher the levels found during pregnancy, the lower the risk of high blood pressure in midlife.

For women whose blood vitamin B12 levels doubled during pregnancy, they had systolic blood pressure readings that were an average of 3.64 mmHg lower and diastolic readings that were an average of 2.52 mmHg lower than their peers with lower B12 levels.

Optimizing blood levels of copper, manganese, and vitamin B12 during pregnancy may provide protective benefits against hypertension in midlife, a particularly critical time for women’s future cardiovascular risk.

The researchers did not analyze where the women got their vitamins and minerals from, such as food or supplements, and more research is certainly needed to verify the results. However, it is unlikely that all of the women in the study were taking vitamin and mineral supplements 20 years later to bias the study.

Source of the article

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