Relation of Birth Weight to Heart Rate in Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood (from the Bogalusa Heart Study)

Abstract

Low birth weight is associated with cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in adulthood. However, information is limited regarding its impact on heart rate (HR), an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This study assessed the hypothesis that birth weight is associated with resting HR at different ages. The study sample consisted of 6,282 black and white participants enrolled in the Bogalusa Heart Study, aged 4 to 52 years with a mean age of 19.4 years. Resting HR data were available in 2,344 children (4–11 years old), 1,622 adolescents (12–19 years old) and 2,316 adults (20–52 years old). Birth certificate records, including information on birth weight and gestational age, were obtained from the Louisiana State Office of Public Health. HR showed a significant decreasing trend with increasing age, with blacks having a lower slope than whites. In multivariable linear regression analyses, adjusted for age, race, sex, BMI and gestational age, the association between lower birth weight (kg) and increased HR (beats/min) was significant in adults (regression coefficient, β= −1.21, p=0.006 in adults), but not significant in children (β= −0.31, p=0.461) and adolescents (β= −0.72, p=0.157). The association did not differ significantly between races. The birth weight-HR association did not change markedly in the models without adjustment for BMI. In conclusion, these results suggest that the association of prenatal growth retardation with increased cardiovascular disease risk in later life might be partly through its relationship with resting HR.

Relationship Between Birth Weight and the Double Product in Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood (from the Bogalusa Heart Study)

“…Our findings that birth weight was associated with DP beginning in childhood are consistent with earlier observations that lower birth weight is linked to higher BP and HR in the same cohort 11,13 . However, the associations of birth weight with BP and HR begin only in or after adolescence 11,13 .…”

“…It seems that the association between birth weight and DP strengthened over time, which is consistent with our previous findings that the associations between birth weight and BP and between birth weight and HR are amplified with age 11,13 . This strengthening association with age may indicate the cumulative effects of growth and development, the aging process after birth, and the increasing mismatch between the anticipated after-birth environment by the fetus, who had adapted to the intrauterine environment, and the real environment after birth 15,16 .…”

“…The association tended to strengthen with increasing age. Together with our previous observations that birth weight is inversely associated with SBP 11 and HR 13 , the findings of the current study provide additional evidence for the well-established association between low birthweight and increased cardiovascular risk in adult life.…”

“…However, the associations of birth weight with BP and HR begin only in or after adolescence 11,13 . While the association between DP and birth weight may largely reflect the birth weight-BP 11 and birth weight-HR 13 associations, the significant association between birth weight and DP began in childhood and persisted across the life span in the current study. This suggests that the adverse effects of non-ideal intrauterine development may emerge early after birth and underscores the power of using DP to detect subtle changes in hemodynamic parameters.…”

“…As both resting heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) are risk factors for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality 5–8 , it is not surprising that DP is also a predictor of future cardiovascular risk 9,10 . We previously reported that low birth weight is associated with high BP 11 , high BP variability 12 , and HR 13 , which may partly explain the low birth weight-cardiovascular disease association. However, no studies have examined the association of birth weight with DP at different ages.…”