title: Association of early childhood abdominal circumference and weight gain with blood pressure at 36 months of age: secondary analysis of data from a prospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether changes in measures of fat distribution and body size during early life are associated with blood pressure at 36 months of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of data collected from a prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community-based investigation in Southampton, UK.
  
  
  METHODS
  761 children with valid blood pressure measurements, born to women participating in the Southampton Women's Survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anthropometric measurements were collected at 0, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months and conditional changes between the time points calculated. Blood pressure was measured at 36 months. Factors possibly influencing the blood pressure were assessed using linear regression. All independent variables of interest and confounding variables were included in stepwise multiple regression to identify the model that best predicted blood pressure at 36 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Greater conditional gains in abdominal circumference (AC) between 0-6 and 24-36 months were associated with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures at 36 months (p<0.001). Subscapular skinfold and height gains were weakly associated with higher blood pressures, while greater weight gains between 0-6, 12-24 and 24-36 months were more strongly associated, but the dominant influences were AC gains, particularly from 0-6 to 24-36 months. Thus one SD score increases in AC between 0-6 and 24-36 months were associated with 1.59 mm Hg (95% CI 0.97 to 2.21) and 1.84 mm Hg (1.24 to 2.46) higher systolic blood pressures, respectively, and 1.04 mm Hg (0.57 to 1.51) and 1.02 mm Hg (0.56, 1.48) higher diastolic pressures, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Conditional gains in abdominal circumference, particularly within 6 months of birth and in the year preceding measurement, were more positively associated with blood pressure at 36 months than gains in other anthropometric measures. Above-average AC gains in early childhood may contribute to adult hypertension and increased cardiovascular disease risk.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Caryl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Nowson
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Crozier
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Siân M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton & University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Keith M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Godfrey
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Wendy T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre of Epidemiology for Child Health/Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Law
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Cyrus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Hazel M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Inskip
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015430:Weight Gain
keywords: EPIDEMIOLOGY