FOR RELEASE:1:30 p.m. ET, WednesdayOctober 25, 2000
CONTACT:Maggie Francis (214) 706-1397
Carole Bullock (214) 706-1279[email protected]
Abstract P114
American Heart Association meeting report: Low birth weight babies more likely to have high blood pressure as adults
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 -- Infants with low birth weight are more prone to developing high blood pressure and wider variations in blood pressure readings in later life than children whose birth weight is normal, according to a study presented today at the 54th Annual Fall Conference of the American Heart Association's Council for High Blood Pressure Research.
"For children with lower birth weight, systolic blood pressure (the upper number in a blood pressure reading) averaged two to three points higher by the time of adolescence, and this difference is likely to become greater as the person gets older" says Empar Lurbe, M.D., lead author and professor of pediatrics at the University of Valencia, Spain. Diastolic pressure (the lower number) was not noticeably affected.
The study is the first to show that full-term babies with low birth weight -- defined as less than 5.51 pounds -- not only tend to have the highest blood pressure when they are older, but also the highest variability in systolic readings.
Blood pressure variability is an indication of the cardiovascular system's capacity for controlling blood pressure changes in the presence of different stimuli.
"When babies do not grow properly in the mother's womb, they are likely to have low birth weight. This is considered a risk factor for the development of hypertension during adulthood," Lurbe says. "The factors involved remain elusive, but it has been suggested that low birth weight may impair kidney function or induce changes in blood vessel walls that might lead to high blood pressure later in life."
Smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy are among the most important causes of slower intrauterine development and low birth weight, Lurbe notes. Poor nutrition is also a frequent cause.
"The most effective prenatal treatment for preventing low birth weight is for the mother to avoid nicotine and alcohol and to maintain good, balanced nutrition," she emphasizes. "Improvements in fetal nutrition and growth, through better maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy and abstaining from cigarettes and alcohol, may be the essential strategy for the primary prevention of hypertension in low birth weight children."
In the study, 630 girls and boys between the ages of 4 and 18 were checked for ambulatory blood pressure during a 24-hour period. Readings taken during a wide range of daytime and nighttime activities showed that systolic blood pressure was higher and tended to vary more from reading to reading in children with the lowest birth weights.
Male and female children appear to be equally affected by the lower birth weights, Lurbe notes.
She says follow-up studies are needed to assess whether changes in the lifestyles of children with below-average birth weight can reduce blood pressure variability.
Other researchers participating in the study include Isabel D. Torro, M.D.; Beatriz R. Cremades, M.D.; Vicente A. Alvarez, M.D.; and Josep M. Redon, M.D.
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NR00-1203 (HBP2000-Lurbe)
Media advisory: Dr. Lurbe can be reached by phone at 34-96-386-2900; by fax at 34-96-386-2983; or by e-mail at j[email protected]. (Please do not publish telephone number or e-mail address.)
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