title: Effects of current size, postnatal growth, and birth size on blood pressure in early childhood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In a prospective study, we investigated the impact of early growth on blood pressure at 3 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) for 590 children 3 years of age and related measurements to current size and size at birth, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SBP was related positively to weight at 3 and 2 years and, after adjustment for current size, negatively to weight at birth and 6 months but not at 1 or 2 years. No effect was observed for DBP. A family history of hypertension was associated with higher maternal blood pressure, greater weight, and gestational hypertension (P = .05). Mothers with a history of gestational hypertension had higher SBP and DBP values (P < .001). In multivariate linear regression analyses, SBP was influenced positively by weight at 3 years and family history of hypertension and negatively by weight at 6 months. None of the factors was associated with DBP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For 3-year-old children, current weight was a determinant of SBP and postnatal growth to 6 months of age was more predictive than birth weight. A family history of hypertension is important in determining maternal blood pressure. These observations suggest a window in which postnatal growth might be modified.
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Child Health, Developmental Endocrinology Research Group, Clinical and Molecular Genetics Unit, 30 Guilford St, London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom. p.hindmarsh@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hindmarsh
authors.forename: Sinead
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.forename: Michael P P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Geary
authors.forename: Tim J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Cole
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*