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Your mother’s
nutritional habits during pregnancy might make you predisposed
to high blood pressure later in life.
A new study found
that people with primary hypertension, or high blood pressure
that is not caused by another disease, may have fewer nephrons
in their kidneys than people with normal blood pressure.
Nephrons play a
role in eliminating waste and excess fluid from the body,
which in turn helps to regulate blood pressure. The number
of nephrons in the kidneys, typically about 1 million in a
normal kidney, is set during fetal development.
The study involved
the examination of kidneys from 20 middle-aged, white people
who had died in accidents, 10 of whom had had high blood pressure.
Their findings support the theory that having fewer nephrons
makes a person more susceptible to high blood pressure, a
finding which was been supported by both animal and human
research in the past.
Individuals with
high blood pressure may have fewer nephrons because they were
born that way, researchers speculate.
Low protein intake
during pregnancy may affect the number of nephrons in the
fetus and the risk of high blood pressure and other types
of cardiovascular disease later in life, according to researchers.
The findings point
to the importance of prenantal nutrition in determining the
future health of the child. Other recent studies on the topic
have found similar results, for example low birth weight may
increase the baby’s risk of cardiovascular disease during
adulthood.
Although further
research is needed, researchers say that improving nutrition
during pregnancy may prevent low nephron number in the fetus,
which may ultimately prevent high blood pressure.
The
New England Journal of Medicine January 9, 2003;348:101-108
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