title: Fetal umbilical artery Doppler pulsatility index as a predictor of cardiovascular risk factors in children--a long-term follow up study.
abstract: Abstract Objective: To determine if high umbilical artery Doppler (UAD) pulsatility index (PI) is associated with cardio-vascular (CV) risk-factors in children at age 12 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 195 children at age 12 years who had had in-utero UAD studies performed at 28 weeks' gestation. The children were grouped according to whether their umbilical Doppler PI was high (indicating poor feto-placental circulation) or normal. At age 12 years we assessed CV risk factors, including anthropometric measures, blood pressure, pulse wave velocity (a measure of arterial compliance), cardio-respiratory fitness, and homocysteine and cholesterol serum levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with children with a normal UAD PI (N = 88), the children (N = 107) with high UAD PI had higher resting pulse rate (p = 0.04), higher pulse wave velocity (p = 0.046), higher serum homocysteine levels (p = 0.032) and reduced arterial compliance (7.58 versus 8.50 m/s, p = 0.029) using univariate analysis. These differences were not present when adjusting for cofounders was modeled.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High PI on UAD testing in-utero may be associated with increased likelihood of some CV risk factors at age 12-years but confounding variables may be as important. Our study raises possible long-term benefits of in-utero UAD measurements.
authors.affiliation: Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital , and.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mone
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Shields
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D021041:Placental Circulation; D011247:Pregnancy; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D012307:Risk Factors; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal; D014469:Umbilical Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Anthropometric; arterial compliance; fetus; homocysteine; resting pulse