Table 1. Characteristics of epidemiological studies investigating the association of maternal iron status and long-term offspring blood pressure levels.
Study identification | Design | Study size (number) | Exposure assessment | Main outcome | Main finding |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belfort et al (2008)50 | Prospective cohort | 1,167 | Semiquantitative FFQ in the first second trimesters, Hb and MCV extracted from electronic laboratory database | Offspring BP at 3 y | Maternal iron intake positively associated with offspring BP |
Brion et al (2008)51 | Prospective cohort | 1,255 (Hb) 7,484 (supplement) 7,130 (diet) |
FFQ at 32 wk, questionnaires at 18 and 32 wk for supplements, Hb extracted from medical records |
Offspring BP at 7 y | Maternal anemia associated with lower offspring BP in women not taking supplements |
Law et al (1991)54 | Historical cohort | 405 | Lowest Hb during pregnancy extracted from medical records | Offspring BP at 4 y | Maternal anemia associated with higher offspring BP |
Godfrey et al (1994)55 | Prospective cohort | 77 | Lowest Hb out of a maximum of 6 measurements throughout pregnancy | Offspring BP at 10–12 y | Negative association |
Whincup et al (1994)56 | Historical cohort | 662 | Lowest Hb in pregnancy and change in MCV extracted from medical records | Offspring BP at 9–11 y | No association |
Bergel et al (2000)53 | Prospective RCT follow-up | 518 | Lowest Hb during pregnancy recorded in the trial | Offspring BP at 5–9 y | Positive association |
Alwan et al (2014)52 | Prospective cohort | 2,958 | Early pregnancy Hb | Offspring BP, arterial stiffness and endothelial function at age 10 | No association |
Alwan et al (2012)57 | Prospective cohort, Mendelian randomization | 348 | Maternal genotype at single nucleotide polymorphisms in the HFE gene as instrumental variables | Offspring BP, waist circumference and body mass index in adulthood | No association |
Abbreviations: BP, blood pressure; FFQ, food frequency questionnaire; HFE, hemochromatosis; MCV, mean corpuscular volume; RCT, randomized controlled trial.