Pregnancy blood pressure linked to childhood seizure risk, study finds

High blood pressure during pregnancy may raise the risk of seizures in children, according to new research.

The condition, known as gestational hypertension, affects nearly 16 per cent of pregnancies in the US.

It has previously been linked to complications such as stillbirth and premature birth, largely due to reduced blood flow through the placenta.

Researchers have now provided the first large-scale evidence linking gestational hypertension with an increased risk of seizures in children.

The findings come from a team at University of Iowa Health Care, which analysed data from more than 246 million patient records across the US and carried out additional studies in mice to support the results.

Children born to mothers with high blood pressure during pregnancy were significantly more likely to experience seizures compared with those whose mothers had normal blood pressure levels.

Dr Baojian Xue is senior research scientist in paediatrics at the university and lead author of the National Institutes of Health-funded study.

The researcher said: “The connection between high blood pressure in pregnant moms and seizures in children from these pregnancies had been postulated before, but never examined on a large scale, and never modelled in an animal.

“With these new mouse models and this new connection between gestational hypertension and seizures, we can now perhaps come up with new childhood anti-seizure therapies.”

Tests on mice confirmed that exposure to gestational hypertension in the womb increased both seizure sensitivity and death due to seizures.

Male offspring showed greater vulnerability to the condition than females.

The research team also identified brain inflammation as a significant factor in the disease process, suggesting it may have similar effects in human children.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, gestational hypertension can lead to complications for mothers, including seizures, stroke, temporary kidney failure, and liver and blood clotting problems.

Most people with the condition deliver healthy babies if it is detected early, but more severe cases can carry greater risk.

The condition can progress to preeclampsia – where high blood pressure develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy – or to eclampsia, which involves seizures due to untreated or under-treated preeclampsia.

Dr Vinit Mahajan is professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University and study co-author.

Mahajan said: “This study is unique because you have an association drawn from analyses of large clinical databases, but then we go on to prove the association with animal models.

“We were even able to reduce seizures in mice offspring with anti-inflammatory drugs based on what we learned from the model.”

The findings suggest that targeting brain inflammation could help prevent seizures in children exposed to gestational hypertension, offering new directions for treatment research.

The study was released alongside separate research from Columbia University, which found that low levels of arsenic in drinking water were linked to preterm birth and lower birthweight.