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Preterm birth and maternal smoking in pregnancy are strong risk factors for aortic narrowing in adolescence
Author(s) -
Edstedt Bonamy AnnaKarin,
Bengtsson Johan,
Nagy Zoltan,
De Keyzer Hans,
Norman Mikael
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.00890.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , offspring , gestational age , obstetrics , aorta , birth weight , fetus , risk factor , descending aorta , cardiology , genetics , biology
Aim: Preterm transition from foetal to neonatal circulation might permanently alter aortic growth and development. To test this hypothesis, we measured aortic dimensions in adolescents born very preterm. Methods: Eighty‐six healthy 15‐year‐old subjects were studied; 45 born very preterm at an average gestational age of 28 weeks (birth weight < 1500 g) and 41 controls born at term. Using a pulse‐gated Fiesta sequence on a 1.5T MR‐scanner, 25 images were collected within the heart cycle at several levels of the descending aorta. End‐diastolic cross‐sectional areas were semi‐automatically calculated using an active contour model. Results: Subjects born preterm had narrower aortic lumen. The difference was 16% in the thoracic and 19% in the abdominal aorta after adjustment for body surface area and gender (p < 0.001). Maternal smoking in pregnancy was also found to be an independent risk factor for aortic narrowing in the offspring (difference 10%–13% throughout the aorta vs. offspring to nonsmoking mothers). Adolescents born preterm had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures; however, blood pressures did not correlate with aortic size or maternal smoking during pregnancy. Conclusion: Very preterm birth and exposure to maternal smoking in foetal life are independent and strong risk factors for general aortic narrowing 15 years after birth.