Biochemical changes associated with blood pressure reduction induced by calcium supplementation during pregnancy

REPKE, JOHN T.; VILLAR, JOSÉ; ANDERSON, CATHRYN; PAREJA, GILDA; DUBIN, NORMAN; BELIZAN, JOSÉ M.

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY

MOSBY-ELSEVIER

Año: 1989 vol. 160 p. 684 - 690

0002-9378

In a study population that comprised 34 normal black pregnant women, biochemical changes are compared between a group of women who received 1.5 gm of calcium supplementation a day and a group of women who received placebos. The blood pressure-lowering effect of calcium supplementation appears to involve a mechanism that relates parathyroid hormone and plasma renin activity. Other alterations in calcium and magnesium metabolism, as reflected by increased urinary calcium excretion and serum magnesium levels, may also contribute to this effect. Subgroups of study participants with initial (