title: Relative intima-media thickening after preterm birth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preterm infants are at increased risk of early arterial growth arrest and cardiovascular mortality. We assessed intima-media thickness (IMT) - an early marker of accelerated vascular ageing - in very preterm infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal cohort study of 21 very preterm and 29 term infants, all with appropriate birthweights. Intima-media thickness was assessed by M-Mode ultrasound of the aorta and carotid arteries at three occasions during a 6-month period corresponding to the third trimester of pregnancy and ending 3 months after term equivalent age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No differences in absolute aortic or carotid IMT were found. However, in relation to vessel lumen diameter, the IMT switched from being narrower in preterm infants, compared with foetuses at 28 weeks of gestation, to being significantly thicker in both the aorta and carotid artery in older infants born preterm, compared with term controls of equivalent postmenstrual age. Although the aortic and carotid artery diameters increased significantly with postnatal age, IMT did not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In relation to vessel diameter, subjects born preterm show thicker intima-media in the great arteries than infants born at term. It remains to be established whether this relative intima-media thickening persists and may be a risk marker for future cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. ulfschubert@gmx.de
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Hashim
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abdul-Khaliq
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.forename: Anna-Karin Edstedt
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Bonamy
mesh_terms: D001011:Aorta / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal
keywords: Cardiovascular; Infant; Intima-media thickness; Preterm; Ultrasound