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| |  Calcium Intake During Pregnancy May Predict Life Long Cardiovascular Risk ROME, Italy, Oct. 10, 1996 -- Research into calcium's effect on hypertension in pregnant women may uncover critical information about cardiovascular risk throughout the life cycle, according to researchers speaking today in Rome at the 1st World Congress on Calcium and Vitamin D in Human Life. The Congress represents the first international gathering of some of the world's leading medical experts to address inadequate calcium intake and related topics. Calcium research has gained increased attention in the medical community because of the growing recognition of its importance for overall health and quality of life. "I'm enthusiastic about the recent research on the effects of calcium intake during various life stages. For example, we're now learning that some diseases, which manifest late in life in healthy women, may be rooted in their inadequate calcium intake during pregnancy," noted David McCarron, M.D., professor of medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University. "Pregnancy gives us a unique opportunity to learn about life-long cardiovascular risk, particularly hypertension. During this relatively short period, the rapidly amplified biological needs of pregnant women affect their bodies significantly." Hypertension is one of the most frequent causes of maternal death in the United States. Pregnancy-induced hypertension occurs in 10 to 2O percent of pregnancies and is associated with increased risk of disease and mortality to both mother and fetus. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that increasing calcium intake reduced the risk of high blood pressure by 70 percent in pregnant women. The study authors remarked that the lower incidence of elevated blood pressure of the pregnant women was substantial and was observed in all pregnant women, irrespective of their age or number of pregnancies. "Pregnancy is an optimal situation for observing the relationship between high blood pressure and calcium because it is a period of accelerated hypertension risk and dramatically increased calcium demands," said Dr. McCarron. "To fully demonstrate the effect of calcium intake on blood pressure, we need further research particularly of individuals who are calcium deficient or whose need for calcium increases within a short period of time." Bringing together international experts to discuss how to achieve the objectives of improving calcium intake, promoting proper growth during childhood and adolescence, and reducing diseases is a goal of the 1st World Congress on Calcium and Vitamin D in Human Life. The medical conditions believed to result from inadequate calcium intake, such as osteoporosis, cancer, and hypertension, have immense social and health costs throughout the world. In the United States, no age group of females achieves even 75% of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommended levels of calcium after age 11. And only two-thirds of men reach the 1,000 mg per day that the NIH recommends. For those groups at higher risk for hypertension (African Americans, pregnant women, the obese, and the elderly), the situation is worse, according to Dr. McCarron. A 1994 NIH report cited food as the preferred source of calcium, and the NIH highlights low-fat dairy foods like skim and 1% milk as being especially good sources of calcium. Dairy products are the major contributors of dietary calcium for many Americans because of their high calcium content (e.g., approximately 300 mg per 8 ounces of milk), according to the NIH report.
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