title: Relationship between increased blood lead and pregnancy hypertension in women without occupational lead exposure in Tehran, Iran.
abstract: This study was conducted to assess the relationship between blood lead levels and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Participants were 110 pregnant women, of whom 55 were hypertensive, 27 +/- 5.6 yr of age (mean +/- standard deviation) (range = 17-40 yr); the other 55 women were age- and gravidity-matched normotensive controls. Participants were selected on the basis of their medical history and the results of a questionnaire-based interview. Subjects were at gestational ages 37 +/- 2.5 wk (range = 30-41 wk) and were not occupationally exposed to lead. Blood samples were collected within 24 hr after delivery, and blood lead levels were measured. For the hypertensive cases, blood lead levels were 5.7 +/- 2 microg/dl (range = 2.2-12.6 microg/dl [0.27 +/- 0.10 micromol/l; range = 0.11-0.60 micromol/l]), which were significantly higher than those of the control group (i.e., 4.8 +/- 1.9 microg/dl; range = 1.9-10.6 microg/dl [0.23 +/- 0.09 micromol/l; range = 0.09-0.51 micromol/l]). There were no significant differences in blood lead concentrations among hypertensive subjects with proteinuria (n = 30) and those without proteinuria (n = 25). Results of this study indicated that low-level lead exposure may be a risk factor for pregnancy hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vigeh
authors.forename: Kazuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazaheri
authors.forename: Sasan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beheshti
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghazizadeh
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Fumihiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Shunichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Araki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D046110:Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011507:Proteinuria / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D007854:Lead