Published Online
on February 11, 2008

A more recent version of this article appeared on April 1, 2008

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 51/4/933    most recent HYPERTENSIONAHA.107.101584v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Liew, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Liew, G. Related Collections Clinical Studies Other etiology Other imaging Epidemiology Other Vascular biology Related Article

Submitted on September 20, 2007
Revised on October 11, 2007

Low Birthweight Is Associated With Narrower Arterioles in Adults

Gerald Liew; Jie Jin Wang; Bruce B. Duncan; Ronald Klein; A. Richey Sharrett; Frederick Brancati; Hsin-Chieh Yeh; Paul Mitchell; Tien Y. Wong^*; for the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

From the Centre for Vision Research (G.L., J.J.W., P.M.), University of Sydney, Department of Ophthalmology, Westmead Hospital, the Westmead Millennium Institute, Australia; the Centre for Eye Research Australia (J.J.W., T.Y.W.), University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; the Graduate Studies Program in Epidemiology (B.B.D.), School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS Brazil; the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science (R.K.), University of Wisconsin, Madison; the Department of Epidemiology (A.R.S., F.B., H.-C.Y.), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md; and the Singapore Eye Research Institute (T.Y.W.), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: twong{at}unimelb.edu.au.

Abstract—Low birthweight is associated with increased risk of hypertension, but underlying mechanisms are obscure. We hypothesized structural microvascular alterations may be one such mechanism. We examined the association of birthweight and retinal arteriolar caliber in 3800 persons aged 51 to 72 years participating in a population-based study in 4 US communities (the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study). Participants reported full-term birth and their birthweight and had retinal photography. Retinal arteriolar and venular calibers were measured from digitized retinal photographs using a validated computer-assisted method. Lower birthweight was associated with narrower retinal arteriolar caliber, with each kg lower birthweight associated with 2.4 µm (95% confidence intervals, 1.3 to 3.5, P<0.001) narrower retinal arteriolar caliber, after controlling for age, gender, race, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, adult body mass index, and height. Additional adjustment for blood pressure averaged over the past 6 years and fasting glucose did not alter these findings, with each kg lower birthweight associated with a 1.7 µm (95% confidence intervals, 0.7 to 2.8, P<0.001) narrower retinal arteriolar caliber. This association was also present in persons without hypertension or diabetes. Lower birthweight was not associated with retinal venular caliber. These findings provide evidence that structural alterations in the arteriolar microcirculation may be a potential mechanism linking restricted fetal growth with subsequent risk of hypertension.

Key words: birthweight • hypertension • developmental origins hypothesis • Barker hypothesis

Related Article:

Retinal Microcirculation and Early Mechanisms of Hypertension

Harry A.J. Struijker-Boudier
Hypertension 2008 51: 821-822. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Beyerlein, B. Schiessl, N. Lack, and R. von Kries Optimal gestational weight gain ranges for the avoidance of adverse birth weight outcomes: a novel approach Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, December 1, 2009; 90(6): 1552 - 1558. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Sun, A.-L. Ponsonby, T. Y. Wong, S. A. Brown, L. S. Kearns, J. Cochrane, J. R. MacKinnon, J. B. Ruddle, A. W. Hewitt, G. Liew, et al. Effect of Birth Parameters on Retinal Vascular Caliber: The Twins Eye Study in Tasmania Hypertension, March 1, 2009; 53(3): 487 - 493. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Mitchell, G. Liew, E. Rochtchina, J. J. Wang, D. Robaei, N. Cheung, and T. Y. Wong Evidence of Arteriolar Narrowing in Low-Birth-Weight Children Circulation, July 29, 2008; 118(5): 518 - 524. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. W. Lim and N. Cheung Birth Weight and Retinal Vascular Changes Hypertension, June 1, 2008; 51(6): e56 - e56. [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Liew, T. Y. Wong, and For the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study Response to Birth Weight and Retinal Vascular Changes Hypertension, June 1, 2008; 51(6): e57 - e57. [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. A.J. Struijker-Boudier Retinal Microcirculation and Early Mechanisms of Hypertension Hypertension, April 1, 2008; 51(4): 821 - 822. [Full Text] [PDF]