A study revealed that middle-aged women who are environmentally exposed to heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead, are likely to experience a rise in blood pressure levels.
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Research analysis involved 1,317 White, Black, Chinese,
and Japanese women aged 45-56 years old (1999-2000) participating in the Study
of Women’s Health Across the Nation Multi-Pollutant. Participants provided
urinary samples at baseline, which were assessed for concentrations of arsenic,
cadmium, mercury, and lead.
The urinary metal concentrations were assessed in
relation to the longitudinal changes in blood pressure using linear
mixed-effects models controlled for confounders. The systolic and diastolic blood
pressure levels were evaluated annually or biannually through 2017.
The estimated annualized increases in systolic BP
correlated with the highest and lowest tertiles of urinary metal concentrations
were 0.93 mm Hg and 0.74 mm Hg for arsenic, 0.82 mm Hg and 0.72 mm Hg for
mercury, and 0.86 mm Hg and 0.72 mm Hg for lead, correspondingly.
On the other hand, diastolic BP showed a similar trend
of increase in correlation with urinary metal concentrations.
The urinary cadmium concentrations associated with a
greater rate of increase in systolic BP only among non-smokers. However, women
with higher vs lower concentrations of all four metals exhibited higher annualized
increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels.
Current data emphasize a need for continued efforts to
reduce environmental exposures to heavy metals.
Source: Hypertension
2021;doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.121.17295