Infant adiposity at birth and early postnatal weight gain predict increased aortic intima-media thickness at 6 weeks of age: a population-derived cohort study

Abstract

Infant body composition and postnatal weight gain have been implicated in the development of adult obesity and cardiovascular disease, but there are limited prospective data regarding the association between infant adiposity, postnatal growth and early cardiovascular parameters. Increased aortic intima-media thickness (aortic IMT) is an intermediate phenotype of early atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between weight and adiposity at birth, postnatal growth and aortic IMT. The Barwon Infant Study (n=1074 mother-infant pairs) is a population-derived birth cohort. Infant weight and other anthropometry were measured at birth and 6 weeks of age. Aortic IMT was measured by trans-abdominal ultrasound at 6 weeks of age (n=835). After adjustment for aortic size and other factors, markers of adiposity including increased birth weight (β=19.9 μm/kg, 95%CI 11.1, 28.6; P<0.001) and birth skinfold thickness (β=6.9 μm/mm, 95%CI 3.3, 10.5; P<0.001) were associated with aortic IMT at 6 weeks. The association between birth skinfold thickness and aortic IMT was independent of birth weight. In addition, greater postnatal weight gain was associated with increased aortic IMT, independent of birth weight and age at time of scan (β=11.3 μm/kg increase, 95%CI 2.2, 20.3; P=0.01). Increased infant weight and adiposity at birth, as well as increased early weight gain, were positively associated with aortic IMT. Excessive accumulation of adiposity during gestation and early infancy may have adverse effects on cardiovascular risk.

Assessment of Increase in Aortic and Carotid Intimal Medial Thickness in Type 1 Diabetic Patients

“…Also Rathsman et al [15] reported increased cIMT in diabetic adolescents with positive correlation between cIMT and waist circumference [15]. Similarly McCloskey et al [17] concluded that increased infant weight and adiposity at birth, as well as increased early weight gain, were positively associated with aortic intima-media thickness. In the current study, increased aIMT had significant correlation with age of the patients (P = 0.0001) but not correlated to other cardiovascular risk factors.…”

“…Serum total cholesterol was determined by a commercial kit (Boehringer-Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany) [16]. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was separated from the serum by precipitation of the other lipoproteins with a heparin/manganese procedure [17]. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was calculated using the Friedewald equation.…”

Effect of maternal antioxidant supplementation and/or exercise practice during pregnancy on postnatal overnutrition induced by litter size reduction: Brain redox homeostasis at weaning

“…The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has increased in recent years, reaching 17% in the United States (Ogden et al, 2015; Skinner et al, 2018). Overweight in early ages is highly related to obesity at adulthood (McCloskey et al, 2016; Araujo de Franca et al, 2016; Prioreschi et al, 2018; Stettler et al, 2005), besides increased cardiovascular disease risk appears at pediatric age (Genovesi et al, 2010; Ayer et al, 2015). In rodents, the reduction of litter size during suckling, firstly demonstrated by Kennedy (1957), has been used to study postnatal excessive weight gain due to the enhanced milk intake caused by greater availability, as well as increased milk fat concentration about 7 days after litter reduction (Sefcikova and Racek, 2015; Mozes et al, 2014).…”

Early detection of childhood obesity through extended routine growth monitoring of children below two years of age in the Asia Pacific region.

“…The S4SFT is identified as a good predictor of the changes in the fat mass during the first year of life and measures are required for younger children. 7,8 S4SFT within the first few months of life has been associated with cardiovascular health risk with an increase of aortic intima media thickness at 6 weeks 9 and obesity risk at 6 years of age (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.09, 2.38). 10 Measurement of SFT has several requirements for successful implementation that include a standard protocol, adequate training of the measurement techniques to avoid observer variability 11 (because it takes longer than standard anthropometry to complete) and translation of S4FT into an estimated total body fat mass for Asian children.…”