학술논문
Contribution of parental blood pressures to association between low birth weight and adult high blood pressure: cross sectional study
Document Type
Periodical
Source
British Medical Journal. March 14, 1998, Vol. 316 Issue 7134, p834, 4 p.
Subject
Language
ISSN
1759-2151
Abstract
Low birth weight may be a hereditary product of the mother's high blood pressure. It also may have environmental factors. Given the fact that babies with low birth weight tend to have high blood pressure later in life, 452 offspring between 16 and 26 were studied for indications. The children of mothers with high blood pressure tended to have lower birth weight but it is not clear if that low birth weight is due to genetic factors or is a physiological one related to the mother's high blood pressure during pregnancy. The father's blood pressure had no bearing on the result.
Objective: To examine the possibility that low birth weight is a feature of the inherited predisposition to high blood pressure. Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Primary care medical centre in Edinburgh. Subjects: One offspring of 452 families (231 men and 221 women aged 16-26 years) in whom blood pressure, weight, and height were measured in 1986 and whose parents had blood pressure measured in 1979. Birth weights were obtained from case records (270 offspring) or by questionnaires sent to the mothers (182 offspring). Main outcome measures: Birth weight and adult systolic blood pressure in offspring in relation to parental blood pressure. Results: If parental blood pressures were not considered, a 1 kg decrease in birth weight was associated with a 2.24 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure of offspring (P = 0.06) after correction for current weight and sex. However, parental blood pressures correlated positively with blood pressure of offspring, and higher maternal blood pressure was associated with lower birth weight (- 3.03 g/mm Hg, P [is less than] 0.01). After correction for parental blood pressures, a 1 kg decrease in birth weight was associated with only a 1.71 mm Hg increase in the systolic blood pressure of the offspring (P = 0.15). Conclusions: Low birth weight is a feature of the inherited predisposition to hypertension, perhaps because it is associated with higher maternal blood pressure during pregnancy. Parental blood pressure may be an important confounding factor in the relation between low birth weight and subsequent hypertension.
Objective: To examine the possibility that low birth weight is a feature of the inherited predisposition to high blood pressure. Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Primary care medical centre in Edinburgh. Subjects: One offspring of 452 families (231 men and 221 women aged 16-26 years) in whom blood pressure, weight, and height were measured in 1986 and whose parents had blood pressure measured in 1979. Birth weights were obtained from case records (270 offspring) or by questionnaires sent to the mothers (182 offspring). Main outcome measures: Birth weight and adult systolic blood pressure in offspring in relation to parental blood pressure. Results: If parental blood pressures were not considered, a 1 kg decrease in birth weight was associated with a 2.24 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure of offspring (P = 0.06) after correction for current weight and sex. However, parental blood pressures correlated positively with blood pressure of offspring, and higher maternal blood pressure was associated with lower birth weight (- 3.03 g/mm Hg, P [is less than] 0.01). After correction for parental blood pressures, a 1 kg decrease in birth weight was associated with only a 1.71 mm Hg increase in the systolic blood pressure of the offspring (P = 0.15). Conclusions: Low birth weight is a feature of the inherited predisposition to hypertension, perhaps because it is associated with higher maternal blood pressure during pregnancy. Parental blood pressure may be an important confounding factor in the relation between low birth weight and subsequent hypertension.