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Gestational age and birth weight in relation to aortic stiffness in healthy young adults: two separate mechanisms?
Anath Oren1, Lydia E Vos, Willem-Jan W Bos
1Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Insights
Prematurity and impaired glucose tolerance are linked to arterial stiffness in young adults. Birth weight and gestational age influence vascular development, impacting long-term cardiovascular health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Developmental Biology
- Public Health
Background:
- Arterial stiffness in adulthood can stem from impaired fetal development and postnatal cardiovascular risk factors.
- Early life conditions significantly influence long-term vascular health and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between birth characteristics and arterial stiffness in young adults.
- To identify early life predictors of developing stiffer arteries.
Main Methods:
- The Atherosclerosis Risk in Young Adults (ARYA) study analyzed data from 524 young adults.
- Birth records (gestational age, birth weight) were collected, and aortic stiffness was measured using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV).
Main Results:
- Higher birth weight was associated with increased PWV (arterial stiffness), independent of blood pressure and other factors.
- Gestational age showed a trend towards inverse association with PWV, but this was primarily driven by premature births.
- The association between birth weight and PWV was attenuated when excluding infants of diabetic mothers, suggesting a role for impaired glucose tolerance.
Conclusions:
- Prematurity is a key factor linking gestational age to arterial stiffness.
- Maternal impaired glucose tolerance may explain the association between higher birth weight and arterial stiffness.
- Distinct early-life mechanisms contribute to the development of arterial stiffness in healthy young adults.
Background:
Impaired vascular development due to intrauterine growth retardation and postnatal-induced vascular damage by an unfavorable cardiovascular risk profile may both cause stiffer arteries in later decades.
Methods:
Of 524 young adults, participating in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Young Adults (ARYA) study, data on birth characteristics were obtained from the original medical records of the Municipal Health Service and the extent of aortic stiffness was assessed using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV).
Results:
The PWV showed an inverse trend with gestational age (linear regression coefficient (beta) = -0.07 m/sec per 1 week; P =.064) whereas it was positively related to birth weight (beta = 0.33 m/sec per 1 kg; P =.020), adjusted for blood pressure (BP), gender, age, and each other. After exclusion of the 26 prematurely born infants, the association with gestational age was attenuated (beta = -0.03 m/sec per 1 week; P =.582), whereas the relation with birth weight hardly changed (beta = 0.30 m/sec per 1 kg; P =.041). In an analysis in which we excluded the 26 subjects with diabetic mothers the birth weight-PWV relation was attenuated (beta = 0.21 m/sec per 1 kg; P =.169).
Conclusions:
Our findings suggest that prematurity drives the relation of gestational age and PWV, whereas risk of impaired glucose tolerance drives the relation of birth weight and PWV. We hypothesized that two separate mechanisms might be involved in the development of arterial stiffness in healthy young adults.
