Enhanced post-natal growth is associated with elevated blood pressure in young Senegalese adults

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that intrauterine growth restriction followed by rapid post-natal growth is associated with high blood pressure. We assessed the effect of early size and post-natal growth on blood pressure in a population from West Africa, where fetal growth retardation and childhood malnutrition are common. METHODS: A total of 1288 Senegalese subjects were followed from infancy to young adulthood (mean age 17.9 years). Adult systolic blood pressure (SBP) was regressed on infant and adult anthropometric characteristics. RESULTS: In unadjusted analyses, infant size was positively associated with adult SBP (1.1 +/- 0.3; P = 0.001 for weight; 0.7 +/- 0.3; P = 0.04 for length). With adjustment for current size, the regression coefficients for infant size were reversed (-0.2 +/- 0.3; P = 0.51 for weight; -0.3 +/- 0.3; P = 0.35 for length). SBP increased by 4.1 and 2.9 mmHg for 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in current weight or height, respectively. No interaction between infant size and current size was found in the overall models (P = 0.11 for weight, P = 0.95 for height), but this term interacted with sex for weight effect. A negative interaction was found in males (-0.9 +/- 0.4; P = 0.02) but not in females (0.3 +/- 0.4; P = 0.46). The association of current weight with SBP was stronger in lighter weight male infants. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the hypothesis that subjects who were small in early life and experienced enhanced post-natal growth have higher levels of SBP, even in low-income settings.