A recent study conducted by the Keck School of Medicine of USC has revealed a significant connection between maternal health during pregnancy and elevated blood pressure in children. The research indicates that children born to mothers with obesity, gestational diabetes, or hypertensive disorders during pregnancy tend to have higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to those born to mothers without these risk factors. Additionally, blood pressure in these children increases more rapidly between the ages of 2 and 18. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, suggest that blood pressure interventions could begin as early as pregnancy.
As heart health continues to decline across the United States, with hypertension affecting an increasing number of people at younger ages, this new study highlights the potential influence of maternal cardiometabolic health on long-term blood pressure outcomes in offspring. While prior research has primarily focused on individual risk factors, this study examines the combined impact of multiple maternal health issues on children’s cardiovascular health.
The study, which analyzed data from nearly 30 years and included 12,480 mother-child pairs across the U.S., explored the interactions between a mother’s cardiometabolic health during pregnancy and her child’s blood pressure up to age 18. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the research was led by Shohreh Farzan, PhD, associate professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine, with Zhongzheng (Jason) Niu, PhD, serving as the study’s first author.
Farzan emphasized the importance of identifying factors that can be addressed early in life to prevent cardiovascular diseases in the future. “Finding factors that we can address during pregnancy and childhood—and implementing early interventions—may be key to changing the trajectories of health for future generations,” she stated.
The study revealed that children born to mothers with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor had systolic blood pressure (SBP) that was, on average, 4.88 percentile points higher, and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) that was 1.90 percentile points higher, compared to children born to mothers without these risk factors. Additionally, children whose mothers had more than one risk factor, such as obesity and hypertensive disorders, experienced even greater increases in blood pressure.
The findings also showed that blood pressure in children increased more rapidly between the ages of 2 and 18 when their mothers had at least one cardiometabolic risk factor. Specifically, the children’s SBP rose by 0.5 points per year, and their DBP rose by 0.7 points per year, compared to children whose mothers had no risk factors.
Children born to mothers with multiple risk factors—such as both obesity and hypertensive disorders—faced even higher increases in blood pressure. For example, children of mothers with both conditions had SBP 7.31 points higher and DBP 4.04 points higher than those born to mothers with no risk factors. The research also found that the impact of maternal health was more pronounced in female children and Black children compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
The study’s results underscore the importance of improving cardiovascular health during childbearing years not only for the benefit of mothers but also for the health of their children. Zhongzheng Niu suggested that these findings should inform prevention strategies, including early screenings for blood pressure in children, even those who may seem healthy otherwise.
“Currently, most clinical guidelines do not suggest blood pressure screenings for children who appear healthy overall,” Niu said. “But our evidence is clear, showing that even a small difference in blood pressure in early life can magnify over a long period.”
Farzan and Niu also pointed out the potential benefits of lifestyle changes for women of childbearing age, emphasizing the importance of reducing cardiovascular risk factors before and during pregnancy. Their ongoing research explores how environmental and social factors, such as air pollution and stress, may further influence cardiometabolic health in children.
The findings of this study are a critical step toward understanding the long-term effects of maternal health on children’s cardiovascular health. By identifying the connections between maternal health during pregnancy and childhood blood pressure, this research could inform new public health strategies aimed at preventing hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in future generations.
As the study suggests, earlier blood pressure screenings for children—especially those with known maternal risk factors—could lead to early interventions that may prevent long-term health complications. This approach may ultimately help reduce the growing burden of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the United States.
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