Children born to mothers with high blood pressure may suffer from mental disability throughout their lives, researchers warned last night.
The finding is the latest to link lifetime health problems to mothers suffering from high blood pressure during pregnancy.
Researchers in Finland studied the children of nearly 400 women who gave birth in the first half of the 20th century, testing their thinking abilities at the age of 20 and 69.
The tests showed a strong link between high blood pressure in pregnancy and reduced mental ability in areas including numerical reasoning and visual and spatial relationships.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology and backed by the British Heart Foundation.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, the foundation’s association medical director, said: "Previous work by our scientists led to the first recognition that children born to mothers with raised blood pressure during pregnancy have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke when they grow up.
"This small study suggests high blood pressure during pregnancy has another, previously unrecognised effect.
It further emphasises the importance of early recognition and treatment of raised blood pressure in pregnancy."
Soile Tuovinen et al. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and cognitive decline in the offspring up to old age. Neurology October 3 2012; 79:1578–1582
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