SIZE AT BIRTH, MATERNAL NUTRITIONAL-STATUS IN PREGNANCY, AND BLOOD-PRESSURE AT AGE-17 - POPULATION-BASED ANALYSIS

Objective: To assess the effect of size at birth, maternal nutrition, and body mass index on blood pressure in late adolescence. Design: Pop ulation based analysis of birth weight corrected for gestational age, mother's weight before pregnancy and weight gain in pregnancy, obtaine d from the Jerusalem perinatal study, and blood pressure and body mass index at age 17, available from military draft records. Setting: Jeru salem, Israel. Subjects: 10 883 subjects (6684 men and 4199 women) bor n in Jerusalem during 1974-6 and subsequently drafted to the army. Mai n outcome measures: Systolic and diastolic blood pressures measured at age 17 and their correlation with birth weight, size at birth, mother 's body mass index and weight gain during pregnancy, and height and we ight at age 17. Results: Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were s ignificantly and positively correlated with body weight, height, body mass index at age 17, and with mother's body weight and body mass inde x before pregnancy, but not with birth weight or mother's weight gain in pregnancy. Conclusion: Variables reflecting poor intrauterine nutri tion, including low maternal body mass index before pregnancy, poor ma ternal weight gain in pregnancy, and being born small for gestational age, were not associated with a higher blood pressure in late adolesce nce.