title: Gestational age and birth weight in relation to aortic stiffness in healthy young adults: two separate mechanisms?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anath
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oren
authors.forename: Lydia E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Vos
authors.forename: Willem-Jan W
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Bos
authors.forename: Michel E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Safar
authors.forename: Cuno S P M
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Uiterwaal
authors.forename: Wim H M
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Gorissen
authors.forename: Diederick E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Grobbee
authors.forename: Michiel L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bots
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D001724:Birth Weight; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors