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Relative intima‐media thickening after preterm birth
Author(s) -
Schubert Ulf,
Müller Matthias,
AbdulKhaliq Hashim,
Norman Mikael,
Bonamy AnnaKarin Edstedt
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.12355
Subject(s) - medicine , intima media thickness , cardiology , aorta , tunica media , pregnancy , gestation , common carotid artery , lumen (anatomy) , thickening , carotid arteries , obstetrics , genetics , biology , chemistry , polymer science
Aim Preterm infants are at increased risk of early arterial growth arrest and cardiovascular mortality. We assessed intima‐media thickness ( IMT ) – an early marker of accelerated vascular ageing – in very preterm infants. Methods Longitudinal cohort study of 21 very preterm and 29 term infants, all with appropriate birthweights. Intima‐media thickness was assessed by M ‐ M ode ultrasound of the aorta and carotid arteries at three occasions during a 6‐month period corresponding to the third trimester of pregnancy and ending 3 months after term equivalent age. Results No differences in absolute aortic or carotid IMT were found. However, in relation to vessel lumen diameter, the IMT switched from being narrower in preterm infants, compared with foetuses at 28 weeks of gestation, to being significantly thicker in both the aorta and carotid artery in older infants born preterm, compared with term controls of equivalent postmenstrual age. Although the aortic and carotid artery diameters increased significantly with postnatal age, IMT did not. Conclusion In relation to vessel diameter, subjects born preterm show thicker intima‐media in the great arteries than infants born at term. It remains to be established whether this relative intima‐media thickening persists and may be a risk marker for future cardiovascular disease.