Birth weight influences differently on systolic and diastolic blood pressure in children and adolescents aged 8–15

Abstract

Aim Globally, hypertension is one of the main threats to public health and a significant risk factor predisposing individuals to various cardiovascular conditions. Hypertension in the young is particularly complex and challenging. Accumulating evidence has implicated that low birth weight is vital for elevated blood pressure, and birth weight was negatively correlated with blood pressure. However, fewer studies with conflicting results have addressed the associations between birth weight and blood pressure in children and adolescents, and there is no relevant research conducted in the NHANES population. The principal objective of this project was to investigate the relationship between birth weight and blood pressure in children and adolescents in NHANES. Methods A total of 7600 subjects aged 8 to15 were enrolled in the present study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2018. Outcome variables were systolic blood pressure(SBP) and diastolic blood pressure(DBP). Birth weight was regarded as an independent variable. EmpowerStats software and R (version 3.4.3) were performed to examine the association between birth weight and SBP or DBP. Results Birth weight was negatively correlated with SBP in the fully-adjusted model(β = -0.02, 95%CI: -0.04 to -0.04, p = 0.0013), especially in non-Hispanic White (β = -0.03, 95%CI: -0.06 to -0.00,p = 0.0446), aged between 13 to 15(β = -0.03, 95%CI: -0.04 to -0.01, p = 0.0027), and male individuals(β = -0.03, 95%CI: -0.05 to -0.01, p = 0.0027). However, there was no unidirectional association between birth weight and DBP in the fully adjusted model(β = -0.01, 95%CI: -0.03 to 0.02, p = 0.5668) and in sub-analysis. An inverted U-shaped and J-shaped relationship was uncovered between birth weight and DBP in those aged 13 or above and Mexican Americans, respectively. The inflection point calculated by a recursive algorithm of birth weight in these groups was all 105 oz. Conclusions The current study identified that birth weight was negatively related to SBP but not significantly related to DBP in children and adolescents aged 8 to 15, highlighting different potential mechanisms behind high SBP and high DBP in the young. However, an inverted U-shaped and J-shaped relationship between birth weight and DBP was observed, suggesting that targeted intervention measures should be taken for different groups of people rather than generalizations.

Longitudinal study of birthweight, blood pressure, and markers of arterial stiffness in children age six among the TIDES cohort

“…Most studies of birthweight and child cardiovascular outcomes have focused on BP and have typically identified negative associations between birthweight and systolic BP, consistent with the Barker hypothesis [21,[24][25][26][27]68]. In our study, we observed no association between birthweight and BP among the overall sample, possibly due to the small number of children born SGA in our study sample or the timing of the cardiovascular measurements being too early to detect an effect of birthweight on BP.…”

“…He specifically identified a correlation between low birthweight and risk of poor future cardiovascular health in adulthood, including high BP and mortality from cardiovascular disease, which has been extensively replicated in more recent studies [13–18]. Although Barker explored the association between birthweight and cardiovascular disease in adulthood, fewer studies have investigated whether birthweight is linked to cardiovascular health in early childhood [19–28] and, among these, only a small number have collected measures beyond BP [19–21], an important step toward advancing understanding of the developmental origins of cardiovascular disease.…”

Cardiometabolic sex differences in adults born small for gestational age

“…Similar differences in the effect of a birth condition have been reported among adult preterm males (55) and females (56). An increased risk of systolic hypertension without any effect on diastolic blood pressure has been also reported among preterm individuals (57), with an increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the general adolescent population (58).…”

The Associations of Birthweight for Gestational Age Status with Its Differential 0–2 Year Growth Trajectory and Blood Pressure at Two Years of Age in Chinese Boys and Girls

“…Few studies have examined BP at the age of two years. Previous studies have mostly examined BP in school-age children and adolescents (age range 7–18 years), and their findings were inconsistent [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. A cross-sectional study reported no association between birthweight and BP in adolescents (12–18 years) [ 32 ].…”

“…A cross-sectional study reported no association between birthweight and BP in adolescents (12–18 years) [ 32 ]. However, birthweight was also found to be negatively related to SBP [ 33 ] or to have a U-shaped relationship with the risk of hypertension in children and adolescents [ 34 ].…”