title: Pulse Wave Velocity at Early Adulthood: Breastfeeding and Nutrition during Pregnancy and Childhood.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an early marker of arterial stiffness. Low birthweight, infant feeding and childhood nutrition have been associated with cardiovascular disease in adulthood. In this study, we evaluated the association of PWV at 30 years of age with birth condition and childhood nutrition, among participants of the 1982 Pelotas birth cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 1982, the hospital births in Pelotas, southern Brazil, were identified just after delivery. Those liveborn infants whose family lived in the urban area of the city were examined and have been prospectively followed. At 30 years of age, we tried to follow the whole cohort and PWV was assessed in 1576 participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Relative weight gain from 2 to 4 years was positively associated with PWV. Regarding nutritional status in childhood, PWV was higher among those whose weight-for-age z-score at 4 years was >1 standard deviation above the mean. On the other hand, height gain, birthweight and duration of breastfeeding were not associated with PWV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Relative weight gain after 2 years of age is associated with increased PWV, while birthweight and growth in the first two years of life were not associated. These results suggest that the relative increase of weight later in childhood is associated with higher cardiovascular risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carolina Avila
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Vianna
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bernardo Lessa
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Horta
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denise Petrucci
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Gigante
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.|Postgraduate Program in Health and Behavior, Catholic University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando Celso Lopes Fernandes
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: de Barros
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D039401:Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*