Effects of birth weight on spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity in adult life

Several epidemiological studies have suggested a link between low birth weight and coronary heart disease; this may be partly due to the association between low birth weight and conventional risk factors. Among the factors involved in the regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis, baroreflexes play a crucial role. The objective of the present study was to investigate if baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in adulthood is associated with birth weight.

Two hundred and eleven adults from Turin, Italy, aged 22-24 years, were examined in a cross sectional survey. Birth weight, blood pressure, pulse rate, family history of hypertension, anthropometric and environmental parameters and spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity were evaluated. In this study we observed a significant increase in baroreflex sensitivity across the tertiles of birth weight, even after correction for gender, blood pressure and heart rate; in a regression model, birth weight was positively and independently associated with BRS; moreover, BRS showed a significant negative correlation with adult pulse rate.

This finding may be helpful in understanding the association between low birth weight and cardiovascular disease outcome in later life, since baroreflex failure is associated with an increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.