title: Blood Pressure Profile in the 7th and 11th Year of Life in Children Born Prematurely.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several research trials have analyzed the impact of prematurity on the prevalence of hypertension (HT). However, prospective long-term studies are lacking.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of HT at the age of 7 and 11 years in a regional cohort of preterm infants with a birth weight of ≤ 1000 g.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 67 children with a birth weight of ≤ 1000 g who were born in Malopolska between September 2002 and August 2004. The control group consisted of 38 children born at term, matched for age. Each child underwent 24-h ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM) twice, once at the age of 7 and again at 11 years. The presence of HT was estimated according to the mean arterial pressure (MAP) and a number of individual measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At aged 7 years, preterm infants had a significantly higher incidence of HT, defined on the basis of MAP (15% vs. 0%; P < 0.02) and on the percent of individual measurements (56% vs. 33%, P < 0.036). After taking into account the group of patients who received anti-HT treatment after the first part of the study, the incidence of HT at the age of 11 years based on MAP was 19% vs. 10%. Based on the individual measurements, it was 36.5% in the preterm infants vs. 24% in the control group. The differences were not statistically significant. At both time points, the preterm group had a higher mean heart rate (HR) than the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children born prematurely are predisposed to HT in later life, in addition to the persistence of an increased HR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gilarska
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klimek
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Drozdz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grudzien
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.
authors.forename: Przemko
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kwinta
keywords: Extremely Low Birth Weight; Hypertension; Premature Infant