title: Association of abdominal aortic wall thickness in the newborn with maternal factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of the present study is to carry out prospective echocardiographic measurements of intima-media thickness (IMT) in the abdominal artery of newborns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study subjects were 96 mothers and their newborns. We measured the adjusted IMT (aIMT, mm/mm) of newborn abdominal arteries by high-resolution ultrasound and evaluated the association of aIMT with various maternal and newborn factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Negative correlations were observed between aIMT and gestational age (r = - 0.678, p < 0.01) and positive correlations between aIMT and placenta-to-fetus weight ratio (r = 0.418, p < 0.01). Comparing the small-for-gestational-age (SGA) versus appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) categories, aIMT in the SGA (n = 14) was greater than in the AGA (n = 82), with values of [0.115 (0.117) mm/mm versus 0.084 (0.074) mm/mm, p < 0.01], respectively. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed with aIMT as a dependent variable, and significant correlations were noted with gestational age (R2 = 0.524, β = - 0.515, p < 0.001 for gestational age).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  On the basis of these findings, we suggest that aIMT thickness is associated with placenta-to-fetus weight ratio and gestational age, and that increased values of aIMT in SGA may indicate presence of a latent link to cardiovascular disease that might otherwise go undetected in infancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Japan. iwashima@hama-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwashima
authors.forename: Takamichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Ohishi
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Akira
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Itou
mesh_terms: D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001724:Birth Weight; D001835:Body Weight; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014463:Ultrasonography