Children who were exposed to higher levels of trace minerals manganese and selenium during their mothers’ pregnancy had a lower risk of high blood pressure in childhood, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The researchers analyzed the levels of toxic metals and trace minerals in blood samples drawn from nearly 1,200 women in the Boston area who gave birth between 2002 and 2013. They found that higher levels of selenium or manganese in the mothers’ blood were associated with lower blood pressure readings in their children at clinic visits 3 to 15 years later.
The researchers also observed that manganese had a stronger inverse relationship with childhood blood pressure when maternal blood levels of cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, were higher — hinting that manganese lowers blood pressure in part by countering a blood…
