Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Kay Mann, Peter Tennant, Professor Louise Parker, Professor Nigel Unwin, Professor Mark PearceORCiD
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Background Whereas a large number of previous studies suggest an association between birth weight and later blood pressure, others do not. Controversy surrounds the relative importance of these associations, in particular in relation to more modifiable factors in later life. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative contributions of a range of factors from across life to variations in SBP and DBP in the Newcastle Thousand Families Study. Methods and results Detailed information was collected prospectively during childhood, including birth weight, duration breast fed and socioeconomic conditions. At age 49-51 years, 574 study members returned self-completion questionnaires and 412 underwent clinical examination, including measurement of DBP and SBP. These data were analysed using linear regression and path analyses. After adjustment for all other significant variables, decreased birth weight, standardized for sex and gestational age (P=0.035), increased BMI (P<0.001) and being male (P=0.034) were independently associated with raised SBP and DBP. Social class at birth (P=0.044) was also independently associated with DBP. BMI was found to be the most important predictor, with a small relative contribution of standardized birth weight. Conclusion Adult blood pressure is influenced by numerous factors, acting both directly and indirectly during an individual's lifetime. Inverse associations of standardized birth weight, although statistically significant, were of relatively small importance, with the majority of variation being explained by more modifiable factors in adulthood, in particular adult BMI. J Hypertens 29: 1077-1084 (C) 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Author(s): Mann KD, Tennant PWG, Parker L, Unwin NC, Pearce MS
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Hypertension
Year: 2011
Volume: 29
Issue: 6
Pages: 1077-1084
Print publication date: 01/06/2011
ISSN (print): 0263-6352
ISSN (electronic): 1473-5598
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0b013e328346d76c
DOI: 10.1097/HJH.0b013e328346d76c
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
