Pulse Wave Velocity at Early Adulthood: Breastfeeding and Nutrition during Pregnancy and Childhood

• Published in: PloS one 2016-04, Vol.11 (4), p.e0152501-e0152501
• Main Authors: Vianna, Carolina Avila, Horta, Bernardo Lessa, Gigante, Denise Petrucci, de Barros, Fernando Celso Lopes Fernandes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Biology and Life Sciences; Birth weight; Birth Weight - physiology; Blood pressure; Breast Feeding; Breastfeeding & lactation; Cardiovascular diseases; Child; Child Development - physiology; Child nutrition; Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - physiology; Child, Preschool; Childhood; Children; Cohort analysis; Demographic aspects; Female; Health aspects; Health risks; Humans; Identification methods; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infants; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Nutrition; Nutritional status; People and Places; Pregnancy; Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - physiology; Pulse Wave Analysis; Research and Analysis Methods; Risk Factors; Stiffness; Systematic review; Urban areas; Vascular Stiffness - physiology; Velocity; Wave velocity; Weight Gain - physiology; Young adults
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152501

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an early marker of arterial stiffness. Low birthweight, infant feeding and childhood nutrition have been associated with cardiovascular disease in adulthood. In this study, we evaluated the association of PWV at 30 years of age with birth condition and childhood nutrition, among participants of the 1982 Pelotas birth cohort. In 1982, the hospital births in Pelotas, southern Brazil, were identified just after delivery. Those liveborn infants whose family lived in the urban area of the city were examined and have been prospectively followed. At 30 years of age, we tried to follow the whole cohort and PWV was assessed in 1576 participants. Relative weight gain from 2 to 4 years was positively associated with PWV. Regarding nutritional status in childhood, PWV was higher among those whose weight-for-age z-score at 4 years was >1 standard deviation above the mean. On the other hand, height gain, birthweight and duration of breastfeeding were not associated with PWV. Relative weight gain after 2 years of age is associated with increased PWV, while birthweight and growth in the first two years of life were not associated. These results suggest that the relative increase of weight later in childhood is associated with higher cardiovascular risk.