Size at birth, maternal nutrition status in pregnancy, and blood pressure at age 17: population based analysis

Laor A, Stevenson DK

1997

Jerusalem, Israel

10,883 subjects (6684 men and 4199 women) born in Jerusalem during 1974-6 were examined when entering the army at age 17. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured. Birth weight corrected for gestational age, mother's weight before pregnancy and weight gain in pregnancy were obtained from the Jerusalem perinatal study. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly and positively correlated with body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and with mother's body weight and BMI before pregnancy. Blood pressure was not correlated with birth weight or mother's weight gain in pregnancy.

This large and well designed study could not detect any correlation between birth weight and blood pressure in late adolescence. In this retrospective study it was possible to consider birth weight in relation to gestational age. This could not be done in most other studies exploring size at birth and blood pressure in later life. The results of this study confirm the results of studies 0090 and 0095.