Carotid Intima-Media Thickness at Age 30, Birth Weight, Accelerated Growth during Infancy and Breastfeeding: A Birth Cohort Study in Southern Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) at age 30 and birth characteristics, growth during infancy, and breastfeeding duration, among subjects who have been prospectively followed since birth. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 1982, all births in the city of Pelotas, southern Brazil, were identified and those children (n = 5,914) whose families lived in the urban area of the city have been followed and evaluated at several time points. The cohort participants were evaluated in 2012-13, and IMT was measured at the posterior wall of the right and left common carotid arteries in longitudinal planes using ultrasound imaging. We obtained valid IMT measurements for 3,188 individuals. Weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) at age 2 years, weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) at age 4, height-for-age z-score (HAZ) at 4 years, WAZ at age 4 and relative conditional weight at 4 years were positively associated with IMT, even after controlling for confounding variables. The beta-coefficient associated with ≥ 1 s.d. WAZ at age 2 (compared to those with a <-1 s.d.) was 3.62 μm (95% CI 0.86 to 6.38). The beta-coefficient associated with ≥ 1 s.d. WHZ at 4 (in relation to <-1 s.d) was 3.83 μm (95% CI 0.24 to 7.42). For HAZ at 4, the beta-coefficient for ≥ 1 s.d. in relation to <-1 s.d. was 4.19 μm (95% CI 1.14 to 7.25). For WAZ at 4, the beta-coefficient associated with ≥ 1 s.d. in relation to <-1 s.d. was 4.28 μm (95% CI 1.59 to 6.97). The beta-coefficient associated with conditional weight gain at age 2-4 was 1.26 μm (95% CI 0.49 to 2.02). CONCLUSION: IMT at age 30 was positively associated with WAZ at age 2 years, WHZ at age 4, HAZ at age 4, WAZ at age 4 and conditional weight gain at age 4 years.