Birth weight and birth length, and blood pressure in children and adolescents

Abstract

Background Birth weight may influence on blood pressure (BP) at later life. The study aimed to test whether birth weight and birth length program blood pressure at later life in children and adolescents in Poland.
Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was performed in a randomly selected sample of 6097 children and adolescents (2949 boys and 3148 girls), aged 7-18 (mean 12.6 ± 3.4), inhabitants of Silesia Region (n = 2386), Masovia Region (n = 1906) and Wielkopolska Region (n = = 1805). BP was taken using a mercury sphygmomanometer, following the current guidelines. Birth outcomes were obtained from routine obstetrical records.
Results Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 110.2 ± 11.5 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 67.8 ± 7.8 mm Hg. Mean birth weight was 3338.2 ± 527.9 g, and birth length was 53.2 ± 5.5 cm. Both parameters were the highest in children in Masovia Region; 3370.4 ± 535.4 g and 54.5 ± 3.3 cm, respectively. BP and birth outcomes were statistically significantly higher in boys than in girls, except Wielkopolska Region. After adjustment for gender, age, current BMI, place of residence and time of gestation, no statistically significant impact of birth weight (in kg) on BP was found, with the coefficients of linear regression b_SBP = -0.4 (p = 0.3) and b_DBP = 0.2 (p = 0.5). However, statistically significant impact of birth length on BP was confirmed: b_SBP = 0.05 (p = 0.04) and b_DBP = 0.07 (p = 0.0006).
Conclusions The results revealed small but positive and statistically significant impact of birth length on BP at later life in children in Poland. However, no role of birth weight in BP alteration was found.