Weight gain in infancy is associated with carotid extra-medial thickness in later childhood

Cardiovascular Consequences of Childhood Obesity

“…10,11 Excessive weight gain from birth to 18 months of age has been shown to be associated with later overweight and obesity, greater central adiposity, and higher blood pressure and C-reactive protein, leading to greater carotid extra-medial thickness measured at age 8 years. 12,13 A similar association, including greater arterial stiffness, was noted in children assessed at age 5 years. 14 A protective effect of breastfeeding on the risk of obesity in later life has been observed in multiple studies.…”

The association of obesity and obesity‐related conditions with carotid extra‐medial thickness in children and adolescents

“…In a recent study carried out in adults, it has been shown that carotid EMT is associated with general obesity, abdominal fat distribution and presence of metabolic syndrome, and they concluded that EMT may be a new non‐invasive index of PAT corresponding to cardiometabolic risk . There were only a few studies that evaluate the carotid EMT in children . Skilton et al evaluated the carotid EMT in non‐diabetic children, and they showed that carotid EMT was higher in boys and it was directly associated with height and systolic and diastolic blood pressure.…”

“…Carotid extra‐medial thickness (EMT), a recent non‐invasive technique used to assess arterial adventitial structure, is distinct from IMT, and it provides additional information regarding the structural changes of the vasculature associated with cardiovascular risk factors . Studies dealing with the carotid EMT in childhood are limited , and relation between metabolic components of obesity and carotid EMT was not studied in children. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of obesity and obesity‐related conditions [body mass index {BMI} z ‐scores, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, insulin resistance, liver function tests, lipid profiles and puberty] with carotid EMT and cIMT in children and adolescents.…”

Weight Gain Trajectories from Birth to Adolescence and Cardiometabolic Status in Adolescence

“…22 Early life weight gain was calculated as the residual of the height change from 0 to 18 months of age as previously described. 23 BMI trajectory groups were determined from all available weight and height measurements from birth to age 14 years. Growth trajectory models were identified using a latent basis growth mixture model, separately for boys and girls, as previously described in this cohort.…”