Evidence mapPaperPMID 41530724Full record

ArticleBMC medicine2026

Assessing the impact of maternal blood pressure during pregnancy on perinatal health: a wide-angled Mendelian randomization study.

Fernanda Morales-Berstein, Ana Gonçalves-Soares, Qian Yang, Nancy McBride, Tom Bond, Marwa Al Arab, Alba Fernández-Sanlés, Maria C Magnus, Eleanor Sanderson, Emma Hart and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Fernanda Morales-BersteinMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK. fernanda.moralesberstein@bristol.ac.uk.
Ana Gonçalves-SoaresMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Qian YangMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Nancy McBrideMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Tom BondMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Marwa Al ArabMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Alba Fernández-SanlésDivision of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
Maria C MagnusCentre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Eleanor SandersonMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Emma HartSchool of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Abigail FraserMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Katherine A BirchenallMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Deborah A LawlorMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Gemma L Clayton *MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK.
Maria-Carolina Borges *MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS, UK. m.c.borges@bristol.ac.uk.

Funding

British Heart Foundation AA/18/7/34219European Union's Horizon 1067 2020 research and innovation programme 874739 LongIToolsEuropean Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Lifecycle grant 733206European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme grant agreement No 101137146, STAGE, via UKRI grant number 10099041Medical Research Council MC_UU_00032/1Medical Research Council MC_UU_00032/1 and MC_UU_00032/5National Institute for Health and Care Research NF-0616-10102Noncommunicable Chronic Disease-National Science and Technology Major Project 2024ZD0531500, 2024ZD0531502, 2024ZD0531504Norges Forskningsråd project number 262700Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 224982/Z/22/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundObservational studies link high blood pressure in pregnancy to numerous adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes; however, findings may be affected by residual confounding or reverse causation. This study aimed to assess the causal effect of blood pressure during pregnancy on a range of pregnancy and perinatal outcomes.

methodsWe performed two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess the effect of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) during pregnancy on 16 primary and eight secondary adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. We obtained genetic association data from large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies involving predominantly European ancestry individuals for SBP/DBP (N = 1,028,980), and pregnancy and perinatal outcomes (N = 74,368-714,899). We used inverse-variance weighted (IVW) MR for main analyses and MR-Egger, weighted median, weighted mode, multivariable MR, and IVW adjusted for fetal genetic effects for sensitivity analyses.

resultsA 10 mmHg higher genetically predicted maternal SBP increased the odds of gestational diabetes, induction of labour, low birth weight (LBW), small-for-gestational age (SGA), preterm birth (PTB), and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission (OR ranging from 1.11 [95% CI 1.02 to 1.20] for NICU admission to 1.33 [1.26 to 1.41] for LBW); while decreasing the odds of high birth weight (HBW), large-for-gestational age (LGA), and post-term birth [OR ranging from 0.76 (0.69 to 0.83) for HBW to 0.94 (0.90 to 0.99) for post-term birth]. We did not find evidence that genetically predicted higher maternal SBP was related to miscarriage or stillbirth. The results for maternal DBP were similar to the results for SBP. Overall, the main results were consistent across sensitivity analyses accounting for pleiotropic instruments and fetal genetic effects.

conclusionsHigher maternal blood pressure reduces gestation duration and fetal growth and increases the risks of induction of labour, gestational diabetes, and neonatal intensive care unit admission. This and other emerging evidence highlight the value of interventions aimed at controlling blood pressure in the population to reduce the burden of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Indexed as

Blood PressureAdultDiabetes, GestationalFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansInfant, NewbornMendelian Randomization AnalysisPregnancyPregnancy OutcomeALSPACBiBFinnGenMaternal blood pressureMendelian randomizationMoBaPerinatal outcomesUK Biobank

Identifiers

PMID41530724
PMCPMC12801432

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.