Pregnancy hypertension and umbilical cord blood lead levels

Conference · · Archives of Environmental Health; (USA)

OSTI ID:5153266

Rabinowitz, M; Bellinger, D; Leviton, A ^[1]; Needleman, H ^[2]; Schoenbaum, S ^[3]

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1. Children's Hospital, Boston, MA (USA)
2. Children's Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
3. Harvard Community Health Plan, Brookline Village, MA (USA)

Pregnancy hypertension, blood pressure during labor, and the umbilical cord blood lead concentration were assessed in 3,851 women for whom additional demographic, medical, and personal information was available. Lead levels correlated with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure during labor. The incidence of clinically defined pregnancy hypertension, nearly 11% overall, increased with lead level. A series of multivariate models of pregnancy hypertension and of systolic blood pressure as a function of maternal age, parity, hematocrit, ponderal index, race, season, and diabetes were improved by including lead as a predictor variable. These other risk factors are not affected by the lead term. The relative risk for pregnancy hypertension doubles when lead increases from 2 to 15 {mu}g/dl. The effect is statistically strong, with a magnitude of about 3 mm for a 10 {mu}g/dl range, about the same magnitude associated with diabetes. At these observed levels (mean blood lead = 6.0 {mu}g/dl, SD = 3.3, range 0 > 35), not currently recognized as overtly toxic, lead has a small but demonstrable association with pregnancy hypertension and blood pressure at the time of delivery, but not with pre-eclampsia nor toxemia. Although this association is not likely to influence the clinical management of hypertension, it indicates that lead at typical contemporary urban levels, does effect multiple physiological functions.

• OSTI ID: 5153266
• Report Number(s): CONF-8706410-; CODEN: AEHLA
• Journal Information: Archives of Environmental Health; (USA), Vol. 43:2; Conference: 1. international symposium on environmental epidemiology, Pittsburgh, PA (USA), 3-5 Jun 1987; ISSN 0003-9896
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
EPIDEMIOLOGY
HYPERTENSION
DISEASE INCIDENCE
LEAD
HEALTH HAZARDS
BLOOD
BLOOD PRESSURE
CORRELATIONS
ETIOLOGY
FETAL MEMBRANES
MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS
PREGNANCY
RISK ASSESSMENT
WOMEN
ANIMALS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BODY FLUIDS
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
DISEASES
ELEMENTS
FEMALES
HAZARDS
MAMMALS
MAN
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICS
MEMBRANES
METALS
PRIMATES
STATISTICS
SYMPTOMS
VASCULAR DISEASES
VERTEBRATES
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
552000 - Public Health