A new study suggests that pregnant women with higher levels of certain vitamins and minerals, such as B12, copper, and manganese, may have a lower risk of developing high blood pressure later in life.
The research was published in the journal Hypertension and was also presented at a major American Heart Association conference in New Orleans.
Scientists have long known that some essential minerals, like manganese, selenium, magnesium, and copper, have properties that help protect the heart. These minerals help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, which are linked to heart disease.
Previous research has already shown that manganese may lower the risk of preeclampsia—a type of high blood pressure that occurs during pregnancy. In this new study, researchers wanted to find out if higher levels of these minerals in a woman’s blood during pregnancy could also reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure many years later.
Dr. Mingyu Zhang, the study’s lead author, explained why this research is important. “People are constantly exposed to different metals and elements in their environment.
Many studies have shown that this exposure can affect heart health, especially the risk of high blood pressure,” said Zhang, an expert in epidemiology and medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.
To explore this connection, Zhang and his team studied 493 women who were part of Project Viva, a long-term study of mothers and children in Massachusetts that started in 1999. The researchers analyzed blood samples taken from these women during early pregnancy (between 1999 and 2002). They measured the levels of both essential and nonessential metals in the blood.
Essential metals included copper, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc. These are important for health.
Nonessential metals included arsenic, barium, cadmium, cesium, mercury, and lead. These are often harmful.
The researchers also measured the levels of vitamin B12 and folate in the blood.
Nearly 20 years later, between 2017 and 2021, the researchers checked the women’s blood pressure again. By this time, the women were about 51 years old on average. A woman was considered to have high blood pressure if her reading was 130/80 mmHg or higher or if she was taking medicine for blood pressure. A normal blood pressure reading is below 120/80 mmHg.
The results showed a clear pattern:
- Women with higher copper levels during pregnancy had a 25% lower risk of developing high blood pressure in midlife.
- Women with higher manganese levels had a 20% lower risk of developing high blood pressure.
- When looking at copper, manganese, selenium, and zinc together, the study found that women with higher levels of these minerals during pregnancy had an overall lower risk of high blood pressure in midlife.
- Higher B12 levels during pregnancy were linked to lower blood pressure later in life. Women with double the amount of B12 during pregnancy had blood pressure readings that were about 3.6 mmHg lower (systolic) and 2.5 mmHg lower (diastolic) than those with lower B12 levels.
Interestingly, there was no connection between high blood pressure and exposure to nonessential metals like arsenic, cadmium, or lead.
The study did not examine whether the women got these vitamins and minerals from food or supplements. Because of this, the researchers do not recommend that pregnant women take additional supplements without medical advice.
However, Dr. Zhang believes the findings could be useful in the future. “Getting enough of these essential minerals and vitamins—especially copper, manganese, and B12—during pregnancy may help protect women from high blood pressure later in life. This is important because midlife is a critical time for heart health,” he said.
More research is needed to find out how much of these nutrients women need to get the best benefits. In the future, scientists hope to identify women at high risk of developing high blood pressure and support them during pregnancy with better nutrition or supplements.
Analysis of the Study
This study highlights a possible link between pregnancy nutrition and long-term heart health. The results suggest that getting enough key nutrients while pregnant may help lower the risk of high blood pressure later in life.
One of the most important findings is that certain essential minerals and vitamins—copper, manganese, selenium, zinc, and B12—seem to offer protective benefits. However, the study does not prove that taking more of these nutrients will prevent high blood pressure. It only shows an association, meaning other factors might also play a role.
Another key takeaway is that high levels of harmful metals like arsenic and lead did not seem to increase the risk of high blood pressure. This is surprising because many studies have linked exposure to these metals to heart disease.
One limitation of the study is that it did not track how the women got their vitamins and minerals. Did they eat foods rich in these nutrients, take supplements, or were their bodies naturally good at absorbing these elements? More research is needed to answer these questions.
Overall, this study is a step toward understanding how pregnancy health affects a woman’s future heart health. If further research confirms these findings, doctors might one day recommend better nutrition plans for pregnant women to help protect them from heart disease decades later.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about breakfast for better blood pressure management, and the gut feeling that lowers blood pressure.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how the dash diet helps lower blood pressure, and how to eat your way to healthy blood pressure.
The research findings can be found in the journal Hypertension.
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