Endothelial function is impaired in fit young adults of low birth weight

Objective: Non-insulin-dependent diabetes, hypertension and ischaemic heart disease, with insulin resistance, are associated with low birch weight (th e 'Small Baby Syndrome'). Common to these adult clinical conditions is endo thelial dysfunction. We tested the hypothesis that endothelial dysfunction could precede their development in those of low birth weight. Methods: Endo thelial function was measured by ultrasonic 'wall-tracking' of how-related brachial artery dilatation in fit 19-20 year old subjects randomly selected (blind to the investigators throughout the study) from low (<2.5 kg) and n ormal (3.0-3.8 kg) birth weight subjects in the 1975-7 cohort of the Cardif f Births Survey and with no known cause for endothelial dysfunction. Result s: Flow-related dilatation was impaired in low birth weight relative to nor mal birth weight subjects (median 0.04 mm [1.5%] [n =22] cf. 0.11 mm [4.1%] [n= 17], p<0.05; 0.04 mm [1.5%] [n= 15] cf. 0.12 mm [4.4%] [n=12], p <0.05 after exclusion of inadvertently included ever-smokers). Conclusion: The f indings suggest that endothelial dysfunction is a consequence of foetal mal nutrition, consistent with contributing to the clinical features of the 'Sm all Baby Syndrome' in later adult life. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.