doi: 10.1161/hc3901.096699
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Circulation. 2001;104:1633.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Clinical Investigation and Reports |
Birth Weight and Blood Pressure in Young Adults
A Prospective Twin Study
Faculty of Medicine, Center for Human Genetics (R.J.F.L., C.D., R.V.) and Hypertension and Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Unit (R.F.,), and the Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Department of Sport and Movement Sciences (R.J.F.L., G.B.), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Correspondence to Ruth Loos, Faculteit voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding en Kinesitherapie, Tervuursevest 101, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium. E-mail ruth.loos{at}med.kuleuven.ac.be
Background— The intrauterine environment may be a critical period for the development of hypertension in later life. In the present study, we applied the twin approach to estimate the contribution of genetic and environmental causes that may underlie the birth weight–adult blood pressure association.
Methods and Results— Birth weights of 418 twin pairs were obtained prospectively, and resting and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressures were obtained at the age of 18 to 34 years. In women, resting systolic blood pressure decreased 4.27 mm Hg (P<0.001) and diastolic pressure decreased 2.18 mm Hg (P=0.02) per kilogram increase in birth weight. Similar associations were found for ambulatory measurements, although these were somewhat less pronounced. Pair-wise analysis confirmed these findings: twin pairs of whom both members had a low birth weight (<2500 g) had a higher systolic blood pressure compared with twins who both had a high birth weight (
2500 g). Systolic blood pressure of the lightest of a low-birth-weight pair was 4.7 mm Hg (P=0.02) higher and of the heaviest 2.4 mm Hg higher (P=0.2) than similar measurements in high-birth-weight pairs. Intrapair differences in blood pressure between the lightest and the heaviest at birth were only present in low-birth-weight pairs. The results were similar for monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs. In men, no associations were found between birth weight and adult blood pressure.
Conclusions— These findings suggest that prenatal programming of adult blood pressure occurs at least in female twins. We suggest that particularly maternal influences, experienced by both twin members, may underlie the association between birth weight and blood pressure. The fetoplacental unit seems to influence blood pressure only when both fetuses had low birth weight.
Key Words: prenatal care • twins • birth weight • blood pressure
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  R. De Matteo, V. Stacy, M. Probyn, M. Desai, M. Ross, and R. Harding The Perinatal Development of Arterial Pressure in Sheep: Effects of Low Birth Weight Due to Twinning Reproductive Sciences, January 1, 2008; 15(1): 66 - 74. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. B. Ness and J. Catov Invited Commentary: Timing and Types of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Relation to Offspring Birth Weight Am. J. Epidemiol., December 15, 2007; 166(12): 1365 - 1367. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I C McMillen, L J Edwards, J Duffield, and B S Muhlhausler Regulation of leptin synthesis and secretion before birth: implications for the early programming of adult obesity. Reproduction, March 1, 2006; 131(3): 415 - 427. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Zandi-Nejad, V. A. Luyckx, and B. M. Brenner Adult Hypertension and Kidney Disease: The Role of Fetal Programming Hypertension, March 1, 2006; 47(3): 502 - 508. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. A. Leon, I. Koupil, V. Mann, T. Tuvemo, G. Lindmark, R. Mohsen, L. Byberg, and H. Lithell Fetal, Developmental, and Parental Influences on Childhood Systolic Blood Pressure in 600 Sib Pairs: The Uppsala Family Study Circulation, November 29, 2005; 112(22): 3478 - 3485. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Gielen, S.-J. Pinto-Sietsma, M. P. Zeegers, R. J. Loos, R. Fagard, P. W. de Leeuw, G. Beunen, C. Derom, and R. Vlietinck Birth Weight and Creatinine Clearance in Young Adult Twins: Influence of Genetic, Prenatal, and Maternal Factors J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., August 1, 2005; 16(8): 2471 - 2476. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. C. Mcmillen and J. S. Robinson Developmental Origins of the Metabolic Syndrome: Prediction, Plasticity, and Programming Physiol Rev, April 1, 2005; 85(2): 571 - 633. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A Iliadou, S Cnattingius, and P Lichtenstein Low birthweight and Type 2 diabetes: A study on 11 162 Swedish twins Int. J. Epidemiol., October 1, 2004; 33(5): 948 - 953. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G McNeill, C Tuya, and W. Smith The role of genetic and environmental factors in the association between birthweight and blood pressure: evidence from meta-analysis of twin studies Int. J. Epidemiol., October 1, 2004; 33(5): 995 - 1001. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Weitz, H. Lorenz Fehm, C. Dodt, R. G. IJzerman, C. D.A. Stehouwer, E. J. de Geus, M. M. van Weissenbruch, H. A. Delemarre-van de Waal, and D. I. Boomsma Low Birth Weight and Increased Sympathetic Activity * Response Circulation, February 10, 2004; 109 (5): e30 - e30. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. G. IJzerman, C. D.A. Stehouwer, E. J. de Geus, M. M. van Weissenbruch, H. A. Delemarre-van de Waal, and D. I. Boomsma Low Birth Weight Is Associated With Increased Sympathetic Activity: Dependence on Genetic Factors Circulation, August 5, 2003; 108(5): 566 - 571. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. McNeill, C. Tuya, D. M. Campbell, P. Haggarty, W. C. S. Smith, L. F. Masson, A. Cumming, I. Broom, and N. Haites Blood Pressure in Relation to Birth Weight in Twins and Singleton Controls Matched for Gestational Age Am. J. Epidemiol., July 15, 2003; 158(2): 150 - 155. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E.V. Rouwet, A.N. Tintu, M.W.M. Schellings, M. van Bilsen, E. Lutgens, L. Hofstra, D.W. Slaaf, G. Ramsay, and F.A.C. le Noble Hypoxia Induces Aortic Hypertrophic Growth, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, and Sympathetic Hyperinnervation of Peripheral Arteries in the Chick Embryo Circulation, June 11, 2002; 105(23): 2791 - 2796. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|