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Prenatal and perinatal predictors of blood pressure at school age in former preterm, low birth weight infants

Journal of Perinatology volume 32, pages 265–269 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

The objective of this study is to investigate prenatal and perinatal determinants of school age blood pressure (BP) in former preterm, low birth weight infants.

Study Design:

We studied 694 participants in the Infant Health and Development Program, an eight-center longitudinal study of children born ⩽37 weeks and ⩽2500 g. We obtained information about prenatal and perinatal factors by interview and medical record review, and measured BP three times at age 6.5 years.

Result:

Adjusting for sex, age, sociodemographic variables and height Z-score; for each Z-score birth weight for gestational age—which represents fetal growth—systolic BP at 6.5 years was 0.7 mm Hg higher (95% confidence interval −0.1, 1.6). Maternal age, pre-pregnancy weight, gestational weight gain, smoking, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and child gestational age and neonatal complications were also not associated with BP.

Conclusion:

In contrast to full-term infants, slower fetal growth was not associated with higher BP in former preterm, low birth weight infants.

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Acknowledgements

Dr Belfort is supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) K23 DK083817. Dr Gillman is supported by NIH K24 HL68041. The Infant Health and Development Program was supported by NIH R01 HD27344, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Maternal and Child Health Bureau 039543, MCJ-060515, MCJ-360593, Pew Charitable Trust 91-01142.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Newborn Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    M B Belfort

  2. Department of Population Medicine, Obesity Prevention Program, Harvard Medical School/Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    M W Gillman

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    M W Gillman

  4. Department of Society, Health and Human Development, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    M C McCormick

  5. Department of Neonatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    M C McCormick

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  1. M B Belfort
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Correspondence to M B Belfort.

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Belfort, M., Gillman, M. & McCormick, M. Prenatal and perinatal predictors of blood pressure at school age in former preterm, low birth weight infants. J Perinatol 32, 265–269 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2011.88

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