Low Birthweight Is Associated with Higher Risk of High Blood Pressure in Chinese Girls: Results from a National Cross-Sectional Study in China
by
, ,
Xijie Wang
1
,
Yanhui Dong
1,
Zhiyong Zou
1,2,*,
Jun Ma
1,*,
Zhaogeng Yang
1,
Di Gao
1,
Yanhui Li
1 and
Minh Thien Nguyen
3,4 1
Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
2
Key laboratory of Reproductive Health, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing 100191, China
3
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Flemington Road, Parkville, Melbourne 3052, Australia
4
Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne 3052, Australia
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(16), 2898; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162898
Submission received: 4 June 2019
/
Revised: 17 July 2019
/
Accepted: 10 August 2019
/
Published: 13 August 2019
(This article belongs to the Section Children's Health)
Abstract
:Objective: To investigate the relationship between low birthweight (LBW) and blood pressure and to assess whether LBW leads to a higher risk of high blood pressure (HBP) by gender in Chinese students aged 6–18 years. Also, to investigate whether the association was affected by childhood obesity. Methods: Data was obtained from a baseline dataset of a national school-based program. Anthropometric parameters, including height, weight, and blood pressure, were measured, while birthweight and other characteristics were obtained from questionnaires. Stratified chi-squared tests were used to compare the prevalence of HBP between LBW and normal birthweight (NBW) groups in each age and sex category. Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to estimate the HBP risks in each birthweight group. Results: Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed a U-shaped relationship with increased birthweight. Compared to NBW groups, LBW girls showed a higher HBP risk, with an odds ratio of 1.29 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.64, p = 0.033), regardless of their current body mass index status, while no significant association in boys was found. Conclusions: Low birthweight is associated with higher HBP risk in adolescent girls, regardless of their childhood BMI status.
1. Introduction
Hypertension, or high blood pressure (HBP), is one of the largest contributors to cardiovascular disease disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) [1]. In China, 6.4% of school-aged children have HBP, and a considerable proportion of these children will develop hypertension in adulthood [2,3].
Previous studies indicate that low birthweight (LBW), defined as a birthweight less than 2500 g, is an important indicator of intrauterine growth status and a predictor of adverse health outcomes, such as hypertension and cardio-metabolic diseases throughout life [4,5,6,7]. For instance, extremely low birthweight has been shown to lead to severe hypertension [8]. However, some studies have showed little effect of LBW on blood pressure in young adults [9,10]. On the other hand, some recent studies suggest that the co-existence of low birthweight and later obesity, rather than low birthweight itself, was a strong risk factor of HBP during adolescence [11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. The relationship between LWB and HBP remains unclear, and obesity during school-age is seldom brought into consideration. It is still controversial to suggest that LBW could be associated with childhood HBP risk and if the association could be influenced by obesity.
Using baseline data from a national school program in China, the present study aimed to evaluate the relationship of LBW with blood pressure and assess whether LBW leads to a higher HBP risk by gender in Chinese students aged 6–18 years.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Setting and Participants’ Engagement
Data was obtained from the baseline data of a national school program in 2013. The sampling procedure of this study has been published previously in detail [18]. Briefly, the original study was a national school program involving around 70,000 participants from seven provinces in China, including Liaoning, Tianjin, Ningxia, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hunan, and Guangdong. In each province, at least 10,000 participants from 12 to 16 primary and secondary schools were randomly selected to participate. Altogether, 45,319 children aged 6–18 were included in the present analysis after excluding children with missing values on height (n = 1414), birthweight (n = 12,475), systolic blood pressure (SBP; n = 209), diastolic blood pressure (DBP; n = 37), and children with a birthweight over 4000 g (n = 5893). The study was approved by the Peking University Ethics Committee (No. IRB0000105213034). All students participated and their parents signed informed consent forms.
2.2. Birthweight Data
Birthweight data was collected using a standard parent questionnaire. Parents were required to record their children’s birthweight based on the record given by their birth certificate or by their health clinic. If they did not have one, they were asked to recall the birthweight based on measurements recorded themselves. About 70.9% of the parents of participants recorded the information of birthweight based on a health clinic card or birth certificate.
2.3. Anthropometric Measurements
All participants underwent a complete anthropometric evaluation according to a standardized study protocol [18]. Height was measured two times using a portable stadiometer (model TZG, China) to the nearest 0.1 cm, with the students standing upright and barefoot. Weight was measured with a lever-type weight scale (model RGT-140, China) to the nearest 0.1 kg, with students wearing no shoes and light clothes only. The average of two repeats were calculated for height and weight.
2.4. Blood Pressure Measurement
Blood pressure was measured according to the recommendations set out by the National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP) Working Group in Children and Adolescents [19], using a mercury sphygmomanometer (model XJ11D, China) and a stethoscope (model TZ-1, China) from the right arm with an appropriate cuff size. Students were seated comfortably for at least 5 min prior to the first reading. SBP was determined by the onset of the first Korotkoff sound and DBP was determined by the fifth Korotkoff sound. Blood pressure was measured twice with a 1 min gap between replicates. The averages of SBP and DBP were calculated. All anthropometric measurements were rechecked in 5% of subjects daily. If the proportion of invalid cases exceeded 10%, all the measures of that day were considered as invalid and were measured again.
2.5. Measurements Classifications
LBW was defined as a birthweight less than 2500 g, according to World Health Organization [5]. Normal birthweight was defined as a birthweight between 2500 g to 4000 g. Current body mass index (BMI) indicated the children’s BMI at the time of study recruitment, and the children were divided into two groups (normal/underweight versus overweight/obese) according to the reference for Chinese children and adolescents [20]. High blood pressure was defined as systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure higher than the 95th age-, sex-, and height- specific percentile according to the reference of the NHBPEP working group [19].
2.6. Questionnaire Data Collection
The questionnaire of this survey was developed with reference to the Chinese National Survey on Students Constitution and Health (CNSSCH), which was conducted every 5 years in 31 provinces of China. Data collected via questionnaire included long term residence (urban/rural, for the past year), daily physical activity time, family history of hypertension (yes/no), only child of the family (yes/no), and breastfed for over a month (yes/no).
Physical activity included vigorous-intensity and moderate-intensity. Vigorous-intensity physical activities were described as aerobic activities that significantly increase heart rate and breathing, for example, running, basketball, football, and swimming, while moderate-intensity physical activities were described as aerobic activities that increase heart rate and breathing to some extent, for example, cycling, table tennis, badminton, and calisthenics. Children reported their activity frequency (days over the past 7 days) and duration (hours and minutes in each of those days) on an activity card. Daily physical activity time was calculated as average daily time = (days × (time in each of those days))/7.
Before the survey, all eligible investigators were involved in a training session to get familiar with the whole process. 3% of all participants were asked to refill the questionnaires within a week for recheck. All questionnaires were checked for logical and integral accuracy by the time of data input.
2.7. Statistical Analysis
Continuous variables were reported as means with standard deviation and categorical variables reported as numbers with percentages. The quadratic regression model was used to describe the association between birthweight and blood pressure values [21]. The differences between normal birthweight (NBW) and LBW group were tested with independent sample t-tests or chi-squared tests. Age-stratified chi-squared tests were conducted to compare the prevalence of HBP between the two birthweight groups. Sex-specific multivariable logistic regression models were used to compare HBP risk in different birthweight groups, as well as in BMI-stratified birthweight groups. Three models were conducted: model 1 was adjusted for age and province; model 2 was further adjusted for height, urban/rural living condition, daily physical activity (hours), family history of hypertension (yes/no), only child status (yes/no), and breastfeeding status (yes/no); model 3 was further adjusted for current BMI. All analyses were performed using Stata 14.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA) and were two-sided with p < 0.05 considered as significant.
3. Results
Among the 45,319 children, 43,220 (95.4%) were NBW, while 2099 (4.6%) were LBW. The current BMI of NBW and LBW was 18.4 kg/m2 and 17.9 kg/m2 (p < 0.001), respectively. Other participant characteristics, including anthropometric and demographic features by birthweight groups, are shown in Table 1. The differences between the two birthweight groups were all statistically significant.
Figure 1 shows the relationship between SBP, DBP, and increased birthweight by sex. U-shaped relationships were observed from both SBP and DBP change in both sexes. Both BP levels showed a decreased trend while in the LBW category, and showed increased trends in the NBW category.
In total, 9.27% of LBW boys and 9.49% of LBW girls, versus 9.07% of NBW boys and 8.38% NBW girls had HBP, as is displayed in Table 2. Generally, the HBP prevalence was higher in the LBW group in both sexes, though no statistically significant difference was found.
Table 3 presented the results of logistic regression for HBP risk in LBW children, compared to NBW children (i.e., the reference group). In the fully-adjusted model, where children’s age, current BMI, height, living condition (urban/rural), and daily physical activity time were adjusted, LBW girls showed a 1.29 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.64) chance of HBP risk compared with the NBW group (p = 0.033). Meanwhile, no statistically significant differences were observed in boys.
When children were further stratified according to their current BMI, LBW girls also showed higher risks of HBP than NBW girls, regardless of their current BMI status. For example, in the fully-adjusted model, odds ratios for HBP in LBW groups were 1.35 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.76, p = 0.030) in normal/underweight girls, and 1.33 (95% CI: 0.80, 2.21, p = 0.280) in overweight/obese girls, with NBW and normal/underweight girls set as a reference. However, LBW did not increase the risk of HBP in normal/underweight boys. Results for the stratified logistic regression are displayed in Figure 2.
4. Discussion
HBP in childhood not only predisposes people to hypertension in adulthood [22], it is also associated with an increased risk of an early set of cardiovascular disease and mortality [23]. Thus, screening and identification of high-risk children for potential early intervention are of high priority. In this study, with cross-sectional data from a Chinese nationwide survey, we found a U-shaped relationship between birthweight and blood pressure levels, that is, compared to those with normal birthweight, children and adolescents with lower or higher birthweight had relatively higher levels of SBP and DBP. However, the increased HBP risk only existed in low birthweight girls, no matter whether they were obese or not.
It has always been of interest to explore the association between LBW and later HBP, and the results of previous studies are varied. One study conducted in Jerusalem found that LBW had little influence on blood pressure in adolescents aged 17 [16], while another study found being born small for one’s gestational age may be a predictor of raised blood pressure when an individual is in their early 30s [24]. Both conclusions were supported by numbers found in later studies [25,26,27,28]. Beside the single effect of birthweight, some previous studies also concluded that the low-to-high postnatal weight gain pattern could positively relate to unfavorable blood pressure levels in early adolescence and adulthood [10,13,17,27]. However, children’s BMI status at school age were seldom mentioned, nor were the sex disparities. According to results of the present study, we assume that in childhood HBP development, current BMI status plays a more important role in boys, while birthweight relative to weight gain progress more significantly affects girls.
HBP development depends a lot on one’s personal hormone milieu, endothermic system, age, and age-related adiposity accumulation, which are all sex-specific [28,29] and may therefore lead to the outcome of different programming in male and female adolescents. Though this inference may need further verification, the results may lead to changes in the present universal screening on childhood HBP, [30,31] as evidence-based targeted screening is actually more cost-effective for developing countries and areas [32]. Instead, a more comprehensive guidance and management of maternal nutrition status, which keeps children healthy from birth, should be more emphasized.
The first limitation of our study is the cross-sectional design, from which we cannot conclude into a causal relationship. However, as the identification of LBW exists before childhood HBP, a causal relationship between LBW and childhood HBP is quite reasonable. Secondly, there were 17.5% of children from the present analysis who were excluded from the present research for missing birthweight data, and this may cause analysis bias. Thus, the results of our study are still in need of further verification in more representative populations. Furthermore, to assist comparisons with previous studies, the present study conducted measurements based on the 2004 version of the NHBPEP working group [19]. Although there are those saying that children’s cardiovascular risk may have been underestimated with the 2004 standard [33,34], our team has found little difference in assessing the influence of birthweight on HBP [35]. The influence of HBP standard might be very little.
5. Conclusions
Low birthweight is associated with a higher prevalence of HBP in girls. Normal/underweight girls are of the same risk of HBP as overweight/obese girls, and thus it is always of great importance to maintain the best nutrition status during pregnancy.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, X.W.; data curation, Z.Z., Z.Y., D.G., Y.D., and Y.L.; formal analysis, X.W.; funding acquisition, Z.Z. and J.M.; project administration, Z.Z. and J.M.; supervision, J.M.; writing—original draft, X.W.; writing—review and editing, Y.D. and M.T.N.
Funding
This study was funded by the research special fund for public welfare industry of health of the Ministry of Health of China (Grant No. 201202010), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81773454), and China Scholarship Council (No. 201806015008).
Acknowledgments
The authors greatly appreciated the Educational Administration Leaderships as well as all primary and middle school health nurses who worked hard on data collection.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Abbreviations
| HBP | high blood pressure |
| SBP | systolic blood pressure |
| DBP | diastolic blood pressure |
| BMI | body mass index |
| LBW | low birthweight |
| NBW | normal birthweight |
| NHBPEP | National High Blood Pressure Education Program |
References
- Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases C; Roth, G.A.; Johnson, C.O.; Abate, K.H.; Abd-Allah, F.; Ahmed, M.; Alam, K.; Alam, T.; Alvis-Guzman, N.; Ansari, H. The Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases Among US States, 1990–2016. JAMA Cardiol. 2018, 3, 375–389. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Dong, Y.; Ma, J.; Song, Y.; Ma, Y.; Dong, B.; Zou, Z.; Prochaska, J.J. Secular Trends in Blood Pressure and Overweight and Obesity in Chinese Boys and Girls Aged 7 to 17 Years From 1995 to 2014. Hypertens 2018, 72, 298–305. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Liu, X.; Li, Y.; Guo, Y.; Li, L.; Yang, K.; Liu, R.; Mao, Z.; Bie, R.; Wang, C. The burden, management rates and influencing factors of high blood pressure in a Chinese rural population: The Rural Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (RuralDiab) study. J. Hum. Hypertens. 2018, 32, 236–246. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Shankaran, S.; Das, A.; Bauer, C.R.; Bada, H.; Lester, B.; Wright, L.; Higgins, R.; Poole, K. Fetal origin of childhood disease: Intrauterine growth restriction in term infants and risk for hypertension at 6 years of age. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2006, 160, 977–981. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Wardlaw, T.; Blanc, A.; Zupan, J.; Ahman, A. Low Birthweight: Country Regional and Global Estimates; UNICEF: New York, NY, USA, 2004. [Google Scholar]
- Barker, D.; Osmond, C.; Winter, P.; Margetts, B.; Simmonds, S. Weight in infancy and death from ischaemic heart disease. Lancet 1989, 334, 577–580. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Morrison, K.M.; Ramsingh, L.; Gunn, E.; Streiner, D.; Van Lieshout, R.; Boyle, M.; Gerstein, H.; Schmidt, L.; Saigal, S. Cardiometabolic Health in Adults Born Premature With Extremely Low Birthweight. Pediatrics 2016, 138, e20160515. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Huxley, R.R.; Shiell, A.W.; Law, C.M. The role of size at birth and postnatal catch-up growth in determining systolic blood pressure: A systematic review of the literature. J. Hypertens. 2000, 18, 815–831. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Seidman, D.S.; Laor, A.; Gale, R.; Stevenson, D.K.; Mashiach, S.; Danon, Y.L. Birth weight, current body weight, and blood pressure in late adolescence. BMJ Clin. Res. 1991, 302, 1235–1237. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Barker, D.J.; Osmond, C. Low birth weight and hypertension. BMJ 1988, 297, 134–135. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Orlando, A.; Cazzaniga, E.; Giussani, M.; Palestini, P.; Genovesi, S. Hypertension in Children: Role of Obesity, Simple Carbohydrates, and Uric Acid. Front. Public Health 2018, 6, 129. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Fujita, Y.; Kouda, K.; Nakamura, H.; Iki, M. Association of Rapid Weight Gain During Early Childhood with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Japanese Adolescents. J. Epidemiol. 2013, 23, 103–108. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Van Hulst, A.; Barnett, T.A.; Paradis, G.; Roy-Gagnon, M.; Gomez-Lopez, L.; Henderson, M. Birth Weight, Postnatal Weight Gain, and Childhood Adiposity in Relation to Lipid Profile and Blood Pressure During Early Adolescence. J. Am. Hear. Assoc. 2017, 6, e006302. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Howe, L.D.; Chaturvedi, N.; Lawlor, D.A.; Ferreira, D.L.; Fraser, A.; Smith, G.D.; Tilling, K.; Hughes, A.D. Rapid increases in infant adiposity and overweight/obesity in childhood are associated with higher central and brachial blood pressure in early adulthood. J. Hypertens. 2014, 32, 1789–1796. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Franks, P.W.; Hanson, R.L.; Knowler, W.C.; Sievers, M.L.; Bennett, P.H.; Looker, H.C. Childhood Obesity, Other Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Premature Death. N. Eng. J. Med. 2010, 362, 485. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Zhou, Y.; Qian, Z.; Vaughn, M.G.; Boutwell, B.B.; Yang, M.; Zeng, X.W.; Liu, R.Q.; Qin, X.D.; Zhu, Y.; Dong, G.H. Epidemiology of elevated blood pressure and associated risk factors in Chinese children: The SNEC study. J. Hum. Hypertens. 2016, 30, 231. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Bichteler, A.; Gershoff, E.T. Identification of Children’s BMI Trajectories and Prediction from Weight Gain in Infancy. Obes. Silver Spring 2018, 26, 1050–1056. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Chen, Y.; Ma, L.; Ma, Y.; Wang, H.; Luo, J.; Zhang, X.; Luo, C.; Wang, H.; Zhao, H.; Pan, D.; et al. A national school-based health lifestyles interventions among Chinese children and adolescents against obesity: Rationale, design and methodology of a randomized controlled trial in China. BMC Public Health 2015, 15, 210. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Falkner, B.; Daniels, S.R. The Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics 2004, 114, 555–576. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Obesity CSOC. Report on Childhood Obesity in China Body Mass Index Reference for Screening Overweight and Obesity in Chinese School-age Children. Biomed. Environ. Sci. 2005, 18, 390–400. [Google Scholar]
- Xie, Y.J.; Ho, S.C.; Liu, Z.M.; Hui, S.S.C. Birth weight and blood pressure: ‘J’ shape or linear shape? Findings from a cross-sectional study in Hong Kong Chinese women. BMJ Open 2014, 4, e005115. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chen, X.; Wang, Y. Tracking of blood pressure from childhood to adulthood: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Circulation 2008, 117, 3171–3180. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Sundström, J.; Neovius, M.; Tynelius, P.; Rasmussen, F. Association of blood pressure in late adolescence with subsequent mortality: Cohort study of Swedish male conscripts. BMJ 2011, 342, d643. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Gennser, G.; Rymark, P.; Isberg, P. E Low birth weight and risk of high blood pressure in adulthood. BMJ 1988, 296, 1498–1500. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Curhan, G.C.; Willett, W.C.; Rimm, E.B.; Spiegelman, D.; Ascherio, A.L.; Stampfer, M.J. Birthweight and Adult Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, and Obesity in US Men. Circulation 1996, 94, 3246–3250. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Falkner, B.; Hulman, S.; Kushner, H. Effect of Birth Weight on Blood Pressure and Body Size in Early Adolescence. Hypertension 2004, 43, 203–207. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Hovi, P.; Vohr, B.; Ment, L.R.; McGarvey, L.; Morrison, K.M.; Evensen, K.A.; van der Pal, S.; Grunau, R.E.; APIC Adults Born Preterm International Collaboration; Brubakk, A.M.; et al. Blood Pressure in Young Adults Born at Very Low Birthweight: Adults Born Preterm International Collaboration. Hypertension 2016, 68, 880–887. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Myrie, S.B.; McKnight, L.L.; Van Vliet, B.N.; Bertolo, R.F. Low birthweight is associated with reduced nephron number and increased blood pressure in adulthood in a novel spontaneous intrauterine growth-restricted model in Yucatan miniature Swine. Neonatology 2011, 100, 380–386. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ojeda, N.B.; Intapad, S.; Alexander, B.T. Sex differences in the developmental programming of. hypertension. Acta Physiol. 2014, 210, 307–316. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Flynn, J.T.; Falkner, B.E. New Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents. Hypertension 2017, 70, 683–686. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lurbe, E.; Cifkova, R.; Cruickshank, J.K.; Dillon, M.J.; Ferreira, I.; Invitti, C.; Kuznetsova, T.; Laurent, S.; Mancia, G.; Morales-Olivas, F.; et al. Management of high blood pressure in children and adolescents: Recommendations of the European Society of Hypertension. J. Hypertens. 2009, 27, 1719–1742. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bloetzer, C.; Paccaud, F.; Burnier, M.; Bovet, P.; Chiolero, A. Performance of parental history for the targeted screening of hypertension in children. J. Hypertens. 2015, 33, 1167–1173. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Flynn, J.T.; Kaelber, D.C.; Baker-Smith, C.M.; Blowey, D.; Carroll, A.E.; Daniels, S.R.; De Ferranti, S.D.; Dionne, J.M.; Falkner, B.; Flinn, S.K.; et al. Clinical Practice Guideline for Screening and Management of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics 2017, 140, e20171904. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Sharma, A.K.; Metzger, D.L.; Rodd, C.J. Prevalence and Severity of High Blood Pressure Among Children Based on the 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines. JAMA Pediatr. 2018. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Dong, Y.; Song, Y.; Zou, Z.; Ma, J.; Dong, B.; Prochaska, J.J. Updates to pediatric hypertension guidelines: Influence on classification of high blood pressure in children and adolescents. J. Hypertens. 2019, 37, 297–306. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Figure 1.
Change of systolic and diastolic blood pressure along with increased birthweight in Chinese children aged 6–18, by sex.
Figure 1.
Change of systolic and diastolic blood pressure along with increased birthweight in Chinese children aged 6–18, by sex.
Figure 2.
Odds ratios and 95% CIs for high blood pressure of different birthweight and current BMI categories among Chinese children. NBW, normal birthweight; LBW, low birthweight. Model 1 was adjusted for age and province; model 2 was further adjusted for height, urban/rural living condition, daily physical activity, family history of hypertension (yes/no), only child status (yes/no), and breast feeding (if or not); model 3 was further adjusted for current BMI.
Figure 2.
Odds ratios and 95% CIs for high blood pressure of different birthweight and current BMI categories among Chinese children. NBW, normal birthweight; LBW, low birthweight. Model 1 was adjusted for age and province; model 2 was further adjusted for height, urban/rural living condition, daily physical activity, family history of hypertension (yes/no), only child status (yes/no), and breast feeding (if or not); model 3 was further adjusted for current BMI.
Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of Chinese children in moderate and low birthweight groups.
| Variable | Normal Birthweight | Low Birthweight | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| n = 43,220 | n = 2099 | ||
| Male, n (%) | 21,377 (49.46%) | 1014 (48.31%) | |
| Age (year) | 10.6 ± 3.3 | 10.4 ± 3.3 | 0.020 |
| Birthweight (g) | 3263.3 ± 356.4 | 2050.6 ± 333.3 | <0.001 |
| Height (cm) | 144.6 ± 16.8 | 142.2 ± 17.0 | <0.001 |
| Weight (kg) | 40.0 ± 15.3 | 37.6 ± 14.3 | <0.001 |
| Current BMI (kg/m2) | 18.4 ± 3.7 | 17.9 ± 3.5 | <0.001 |
| BMI group, n (%) | |||
| Normal/underweight | 33,212 (76.84%) | 1709 (81.42%) | <0.001 |
| Overweight/obese | 10,008 (23.16%) | 390 (18.58%) | <0.001 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 104.3 ± 12.1 | 103.3 ± 12.4 | <0.001 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 66.3 ± 8.8 | 65.6 ± 9.2 | <0.001 |
| Urban residence, n (%) | 26,793 (61.99%) | 1463 (69.70%) | <0.001 |
| Daily physical activity (hours/day) | 3.2 ± 2.6 | 3.6 ± 2.6 | <0.001 |
| Family history of hypertension, n (%) | 19,202 (52.15%) | 736 (49.20%) | 0.025 |
| The only child of the family, n (%) | 30,791 (71.24%) | 1443 (68.75%) | 0.014 |
| Breastfeeding ≥ 1 month, n (%) | 31,502 (84.61%) | 1159 (76.20%) | <0.001 |
Notes: the p-values between the two birthweight groups were calculated using a t-test for continuous variables and χ2 test for categorical variables; abbreviations: BMI (body mass index).
Table 2.
Gender- and age-specific prevalence of high blood pressure stratified by birthweight and sex, N (%).
Table 2.
Gender- and age-specific prevalence of high blood pressure stratified by birthweight and sex, N (%).
| Gender | Age Group | Normal Birthweight | Low Birthweight | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Observations | HBP Prevalence, N (%) | Number of Observations | HBP Prevalence, N (%) | |||
| Boys | 6–8 | 7269 | 626 (8.61) | 412 | 35 (8.50) | 0.934 |
| 9–11 | 5877 | 720 (12.25) | 279 | 28 (10.04) | 0.268 | |
| 12–15 | 4816 | 397 (8.24) | 182 | 21 (11.54) | 0.115 | |
| 16–18 | 3415 | 196 (5.74) | 141 | 10 (7.09) | 0.500 | |
| Total | 21,037 | 1939 (9.07) | 1014 | 94 (9.27) | 0.829 | |
| Girls | 6–8 | 7096 | 645 (9.09) | 331 | 32 (9.67) | 0.721 |
| 9–11 | 5389 | 702 (13.03) | 263 | 37 (14.07) | 0.625 | |
| 12–15 | 5155 | 373 (7.24) | 273 | 27 (9.89) | 0.102 | |
| 16–18 | 4203 | 110 (2.62) | 218 | 7 (3.21) | 0.594 | |
| Total | 21,843 | 1830 (8.38) | 1085 | 103 (9.49) | 0.197 | |
Notes: HBP, high blood pressure. Data for HBP prevalence was displayed as numbers and row percentages of subjects with HBP in each age, sex, and birthweight groups.
Table 3.
Odds ratios of high blood pressure in the low birth weight group compared with the normal birth weight group.
Table 3.
Odds ratios of high blood pressure in the low birth weight group compared with the normal birth weight group.
| Sex | Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OR (95% CI) | p-value | OR (95% CI) | p-value | OR (95% CI) | p-value | |
| Total (n = 45,319) | ||||||
| NBW | 1 (Reference) | 1 (Reference) | 1 (Reference) | |||
| LBW | 1.02 (0.89, 1.18) | 0.743 | 1.14 (0.97, 1.35) | 0.119 | 1.16 (0.98, 1.37) | 0.087 |
| Boys (n = 22,391) | ||||||
| NBW | 1 (Reference) | 1 (Reference) | 1 (Reference) | |||
| LBW | 0.93 (0.76, 1.14) | 0.468 | 1.03 (0.81, 1.31) | 0.809 | 1.05 (0.83, 1.34) | 0.672 |
| Girls (n = 22,928) | ||||||
| NBW | 1 (Reference) | 1 (Reference) | 1 (Reference) | |||
| LBW | 1.16 (0.95, 1.41) | 0.151 | 1.27 (1.01, 1.61) | 0.045 | 1.29 (1.02, 1.64) | 0.033 |
Notes: NBW, normal birth weight; LBW, low birth weight; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval. Bold values in the table indicate to statistically significant P value. Model 1 was adjusted for age and province; model 2 was further adjusted for height, urban/rural living condition, daily physical activity (hours), family history of hypertension (yes/no), only child status (yes/no), and breast feeding (yes/no); model 3 was further adjusted for current body mass index.
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Wang, X.; Dong, Y.; Zou, Z.; Ma, J.; Yang, Z.; Gao, D.; Li, Y.; Nguyen, M.T. Low Birthweight Is Associated with Higher Risk of High Blood Pressure in Chinese Girls: Results from a National Cross-Sectional Study in China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2898. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162898
AMA Style
Wang X, Dong Y, Zou Z, Ma J, Yang Z, Gao D, Li Y, Nguyen MT. Low Birthweight Is Associated with Higher Risk of High Blood Pressure in Chinese Girls: Results from a National Cross-Sectional Study in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(16):2898. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162898
Chicago/Turabian StyleWang, Xijie, Yanhui Dong, Zhiyong Zou, Jun Ma, Zhaogeng Yang, Di Gao, Yanhui Li, and Minh Thien Nguyen. 2019. "Low Birthweight Is Associated with Higher Risk of High Blood Pressure in Chinese Girls: Results from a National Cross-Sectional Study in China" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 16: 2898. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162898
Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
