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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
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    High blood pressure during pregnancy linked to thinking problems later   
    Study finds even greater risk in those with preeclampsia, eclampsia    
      
     Date:   
         March 1, 2023   
     Source:   
         American Academy of Neurology   
     Summary:   
         High blood pressure disorders during pregnancy are associated with   
         an increased risk of thinking problems later in life, according   
         to a study.   
      
         Researchers found that those with these disorders had a higher   
         risk of cognitive problems in later life than those who did not   
         have high blood pressure during pregnancy. They also found that   
         those with preeclampsia, which is high blood pressure that develops   
         halfway through pregnancy and usually involves the kidneys and other   
         organs, may have an even greater risk of cognitive decline later   
         in life, compared to those with gestational high blood pressure,   
         a condition with high blood pressure in pregnancy but without   
         affecting the kidneys or other organs.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   High blood pressure disorders during pregnancy are associated with   
   an increased risk of thinking problems later in life, according to a   
   study published in the March 1, 2023, online issue of Neurology(R),   
   the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers   
   found that those with these disorders had a higher risk of cognitive   
   problems in later life than those who did not have high blood pressure   
   during pregnancy. They also found that those with preeclampsia, which is   
   high blood pressure that develops halfway through pregnancy and usually   
   involves the kidneys and other organs, may have an even greater risk   
   of cognitive decline later in life, compared to those with gestational   
   high blood pressure, a condition with high blood pressure in pregnancy   
   but without affecting the kidneys or other organs.   
      
      
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   "While high blood pressure during pregnancy, including preeclampsia,   
   is recognized as a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, our study   
   suggests that it may also be a risk factor for cognitive decline in   
   later life," said study author Michelle M. Mielke, PhD, of Wake Forest   
   University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a   
   member of the American Academy of Neurology.   
      
   The study involved 2,239 female participants with an average age of 73.   
      
   Researchers looked at medical records for information about previous   
   pregnancies.   
      
   Of the participants, 1,854 people or 83% had at least one pregnancy,   
   and 385 people or 17% never had a pregnancy or had a pregnancy of less   
   than 20 weeks.   
      
   Of those with pregnancies longer than 20 weeks, 100 had gestational   
   high blood pressure, 147 had preeclampsia or eclampsia and 1,607 had   
   normal blood pressure. Preeclampsia is when there is excess protein in   
   the urine during pregnancy. Eclampsia is when high blood pressure during   
   pregnancy causes one or more seizures, sometimes followed by a coma.   
      
   For the study, participants took nine memory and thinking tests every 15   
   months over an average of five years. The tests measured thinking and   
   memory skills including global cognition, processing speed, executive   
   function, language and visual perception.   
      
   Overall, researchers found that those with high blood pressure during   
   pregnancy had a greater decline than those without high blood pressure   
   during pregnancy and those who had not given birth on tests of global   
   cognition, attention, executive function and language.   
      
   After adjusting for age and education, the average composite score of   
   all memory and thinking tests of participants with any type of high blood   
   pressure disorder had a decline of 0.3 points compared to those who did   
   not have high blood pressure during pregnancy with a decline of 0.05   
   points. When looking at different types of high blood pressure disorders,   
   those with preeclampsia had a decline of 0.04 points compared to those   
   with other blood pressure disorders and those with no blood pressure   
   disorders, which both had a decline of 0.05.   
      
   After adjusting for age and education, those with high blood pressure   
   in pregnancy declined 0.4 standard deviation over five years on   
   tests of executive function and attention, compared to those who   
   had normal blood pressure for all pregnancies and declined only 0.1   
   standard deviation. These results were more pronounced for those who   
   had preeclampsia, with a 0.5 standard deviation decrease on tests of   
   executive function and attention compared to a 0.1 decrease for those   
   who had normal blood pressure for all pregnancies.   
      
   "More research is needed to confirm our findings. However, these results   
   suggest that managing and monitoring blood pressure during and after   
   pregnancy is an important factor for brain health later in life,"   
   Mielke said.   
      
   A limitation of the study is that most of the participants were white,   
   so results may not be generalizable to more diverse populations that   
   have higher rates of high blood pressure in pregnancy.   
      
   The study was funded by National Institutes of Health and the Gerald   
   and Henrietta Rauenhorst Foundation.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Hypertension # Heart_Disease # Blood_Clots # Anemia   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Intelligence # Educational_Psychology #   
                   Obstructive_Sleep_Apnea # K-12_Education   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Blood_pressure o Hypertension o Nutrition_and_pregnancy   
             o Diabetes o Boiling o Premature_birth o Acupressure o   
             Hypercholesterolemia   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by American_Academy_of_Neurology. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Calin I Prodan. Bridging the Gap Between Hypertensive Disorders of   
         Pregnancy and Cognitive Decline in Older Women. Neurology, 2023   
         DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000207237   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230301162703.htm   
      
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