Fetal and Childhood Growth and Hypertension in Adult Life
Abstract
Abstract —The association between low birth weight and raised blood pressure has been extensively replicated. Little is known about the way childhood growth modifies the effects of low birth weight. We report on the fetal and childhood growth of 1958 men and women who received treatment for hypertension and belong to a cohort of 7086 people born in Helsinki, Finland, during 1924–1933. As expected, the men and women who developed hypertension had low birth weight ( P =0.002). They were also shorter in body length at birth ( P =0.02). After birth they experienced accelerated growth, so that by 7 years their heights and weights were approximately average. In a simultaneous regression, both birth length and tall height had statistically significant although opposing effects on hypertension ( P =0.003 for birth length and 0.009 for height at 7 years). Accelerated postnatal growth was associated with better childhood living conditions. Children who later developed both hypertension and type 2 diabetes, rather than hypertension alone, had small placental size as well as small body size at birth, and their accelerated postnatal growth continued beyond 7 years. We suggest that hypertension may originate through retarded growth in utero followed by accelerated postnatal growth as a result of good living conditions. Retarded fetal growth leads to permanently reduced cell numbers in the kidney and other tissues, and subsequent accelerated growth may lead to excessive metabolic demand on this limited cell mass.
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There is substantial evidence for effects of intrauterine growth and early postnatal weight gain on adiposity and high BP.
“Stemming from Barker's work, there is substantial evidence for effects of intrauterine growth and early postnatal weight gain on adiposity and high BP.92”
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- Authors
- Eriksson, J., Forsén, T., Tuomilehto, J., Osmond, C., & Barker, D.
- Affiliations
- Southampton General Hospital (GB)
- From the National Public Health Institute, Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, Diabetes and Genetic Epidemiology Unit, Helsinki, Finland (J.E., T.F., J.T.), and Medical Research Council Environmental Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, United Kingdom (C.O., D.B.).
- Venue
- Hypertension
- Published
- 2000-11
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 790-794
- ISSN
- 0194-911X (ISSN-L)
- 1524-4563
- OpenAlex
- W1988168615
- Cited by
- 483
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 39
- FWCI
- 15.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Hypertension (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- British Heart Foundation
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Pregnancy and preeclampsia studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies
- Keywords
- low birth weight, fetal growth, child growth, birth length, childhood living conditions, type 2 diabetes, placental size, adult blood pressure
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Birth Weight, Body Height, Child, Child Development, Child, Preschool, Female, Embryonic and Fetal Development, Finland, Growth, Humans, Hypertension, Infant, Infant, Low Birth Weight, Infant, Newborn, Male, Mothers, Organ Size, Placenta, Pregnancy, Social Class, Body Mass Index, Incidence, Multivariate Analysis
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