Effect of maternal calcium supplementation on offspring blood pressure in 5- to 10-y-old rural Gambian children

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition 2010-10, Vol.92 (4), p.741-747
• Main Authors: Hawkesworth, Sophie, Sawo, Yankuba, Fulford, Anthony JC, Goldberg, Gail R, Jarjou, Landing MA, Prentice, Ann, Moore, Sophie E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: anthropometric measurements; Biological and medical sciences; Black people; Blood pressure; Blood Pressure - physiology; body composition; Body Mass Index; Calcium; Calcium, Dietary - administration & dosage; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control; Child; child nutrition; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; diastolic blood pressure; Diet Records; dietary mineral supplements; Dietary Supplements; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gambia - epidemiology; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; Lipids - blood; longitudinal studies; Male; Maternal & child health; maternal nutrition; Middle Aged; mothers; nutritional status; Patient Selection; Pregnancy; pregnant women; progeny; randomized clinical trials; Risk Factors; Rural Population; school children; systolic blood pressure; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Waist Circumference
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.2010.29475

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that increased maternal calcium intake during pregnancy may result in lower offspring blood pressure, prompting calls for more robust data in this field, particularly in settings of habitually low calcium intake. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to investigate the effect of maternal calcium supplementation on blood pressure in offspring by recruiting children born after a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of calcium supplementation during pregnancy. DESIGN: Children (n = 389) from a rural area of The Gambia (mean age: 7.4 ± 1.2 y; range: 5-10 y), whose mothers received a calcium supplement (1500 mg Ca/d from 20 wk of gestation until delivery) or placebo, were followed up in West Africa. Blood pressure was assessed under standardized conditions with use of the Omron 705IT automated oscillometric device (Morton Medical Ltd, London, United Kingdom), and anthropometric and body composition (bioelectrical impedance) measurements were also made. RESULTS: The analysis was restricted to 350 children born at term, which represented 64% of original trial births. There was no difference in systolic (adjusted mean difference: -0.04 mm Hg; 95% CI: -1.78, 1.69 mm Hg) or diastolic (adjusted mean difference: 0.25 mm Hg; 95% CI: -1.27, 1.77 mm Hg) blood pressure between children whose mothers had received calcium and those who received placebo. No interaction between childhood body mass index (in kg/m²; mean: 14.0) and maternal calcium supplementation was observed in this study. CONCLUSION: Calcium supplementation in the second half of pregnancy in Gambian women with very low habitual calcium intakes may not result in lower offspring blood pressure at 5-10 y of age.