PS-104 Early Markers Of An Increased Cardiovascular Risk In Former Preterm Tyrolean Preschoolers – Preliminary Data

Abstract

Methods ECG electrodes and a PO sensor were attached as soon as possible after birth in healthy pre (term) infants. PO data with Signal Identification and Quality <0.30 were excluded. HR ECG and HR PO were compared every 30 s from 1-10 min.Results 755 data pairs of 53 patients were analysed. Median (range) gestational age was 36 (27-41) weeks. Data from ECG and PO were acquired from 82 (26) and 99 (33)s after birth. Median HR PO was <100 bpm the first 2 min after which it rapidly increased. HR ECG remained stable at 150-160 bpm (table). Conclusion HR measured by PO is significantly lower compared to ECG, which has important implications for clinical care in the first minutes after birth. Background and aims Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. A growing body of evidence suggests that preterm infants develop an unfavourable cardiovascular risk profile in adult life. The aim of this study was to investigate whether early laboratory and ultrasonographic markers of an increased cardiovascular risk are present in former preterm infants at a preschool age. Methods Former preterm infants born in Tyrol between 2006 and 2008 with a gestational age <32 weeks were followed up at a corrected age of five to seven years. Healthy preschoolers born at term served as controls. Glucose and cholesterol levels were determined after a minimum overnight fasting period of twelve hours. Aortic intima-media thickness (aIMT) was assessed by means of high resolution ultrasound and a software quantification tool. Results 137 children (preterm: 64, term: 73) were examined. Blood samples were obtained from 80 participants (preterm: 57, term: 23). In comparison to children born at term, former preterm infants had significantly higher HDL cholesterol, but also fasting glucose levels. Total and LDL cholesterol levels tended to be higher in the preterm group, but these findings did not reach statistical significance. aIMT measurements did not differ between groups. All parameters were independent of current BMI percentile and gender. Conclusions In comparison to children born at term, former preterm infants have higher fasting glucose levels and show dualistic cholesterol alterations at a preschool age. The relevance of these findings with regard to future cardiovascular health will be addressed by additional studies. PS-104

Former very preterm infants show alterations in plasma amino acid profiles at a preschool age

“…A growing body of evidence suggests an association of BCAA concentrations with unfavorable cardiometabolic phenotypes in both adult and pediatric cohorts (7,12,(40)(41)(42). Interestingly, even though we have recently shown that former VPI have an adverse classical and echocardiographic cardiovascular risk profile (4,5), BCAA concentrations were lower in former VPI than in term-born controls in this study. However, BCAA plasma concentrations are known to be closely related to visceral fat accumulation (8,9), which seems to be of minor relevance in our study population, as former VPI had significantly lower BMI and BMI z-scores at study visit than term-born controls.…”

“…A growing body of evidence suggests that prematurity is associated with an unfavorable cardiovascular risk profile in adolescent and adult life (3). Our research group has recently shown that major modifiable markers of an increased cardiovascular risk (elevated blood pressure, raised blood glucose levels and lipid alterations) are present in former very preterm infants (VPI) even at a preschool age and that former VPI display decreased elastic properties of the descending abdominal aorta (4,5). In addition to traditional risk factors, metabolic profiling including plasma amino acid analyses and amino acid-derived scoring systems are now being frequently used as a supplementary investigative tool for cardiovascular risk assessment (6,7).…”

Aortic Elastic Properties in Preschool Children Born Preterm

“…[22][23][24] Our study aims at investigating arterial wall properties in a comparatively large cohort of children at preschool age by means of a standardized, semiautomated, and noninvasive method. [25][26][27] …”