Women's Health
Energy drinks before pregnancy may raise odds of high blood pressure while pregnant
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- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
Women who consume energy drinks before becoming pregnant may have a higher risk of high blood pressure during pregnancy, a serious condition known as gestational hypertension, a new analysis suggests.
In the Harvard-led study, published online Nov. 20, 2023, by JAMA Network Open, researchers evaluated data from two separate groups: more than 3,000 women (average age 30) enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study 3 (NHS3) and nearly 1,700 women (average age 26) in the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS). All participants reported at least one pregnancy (with a single baby) from 2011 to 2019. Data from 7,304 pregnancies tracked energy drink consumption before pregnancy, while data from 4,559 pregnancies included information on energy drink consumption during pregnancy. A small proportion of women in both studies reported drinking energy drinks at any time — 9% of NHS3 participants and 14% of GUTS participants. But those who consumed energy drinks before pregnancy were significantly more likely than those who hadn't to develop high blood pressure while pregnant. This association was also stronger in participants ages 28 and older. No link was found between drinking energy drinks during pregnancy and gestational hypertension, however.
The study was observational. That means it couldn't prove that consuming energy drinks before pregnancy acts directly to raise blood pressure later — only that an association exists.
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About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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