Individual, Independent, and Joint Associations of Toxic Metals and Manganese on Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: Results from the MIREC Canadian Pregnancy Cohort.

Borghese, MM, Fisher M, Ashley-Martin J, Fraser WD, Trottier H, Lanphear BP, Johnson M, Helewa M, Foster WG, Walker M, Arbuckle TE. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2023 Apr;131(4):47014. doi: 10.1289/EHP10825

Question: Does exposure to toxic and essential metals contribute to risk of high blood pressure during pregnancy?

What did the researchers do:
Levels of several metals were measured in women’s blood at two time points during pregnancy: first and third trimester. Information on blood pressure, and diagnoses of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia was obtained from the women’s medical charts.

What did they find:
Overall, MIREC participants had low blood levels of lead and arsenic. Participants with higher lead or arsenic levels during pregnancy were more likely to develop preeclampsia than women with lower levels. However, participants with higher manganese levels were less likely to develop gestational hypertension. Furthermore, women with higher manganese levels were less prone to the adverse effect of arsenic on gestational hypertension.

What does this mean:
This research demonstrates the importance of investigating the potential health effects that may be associated with exposure to toxic metals during pregnancy as well as the beneficial effects of essential metals like manganese.

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