Abstract
Objective: Associations of obesity with cardiovascular disease may originate in childhood. This study examined critical periods for BMI in relation to arterial health at school age. Methods: Among 4,731 children from a prospective cohort study, associations of infant peak weight velocity, both age and BMI at adiposity peak, and BMI trajectories with carotid artery intima-media thickness and carotid artery distensibility at 10 years were examined. Results: A 1-standard deviation score (SDS) higher peak weight velocity and BMI at adiposity peak were associated with higher intima-media thickness (0.10 SDS; 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.13 and 0.08 SDS; 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.12) and lower distensibility (−0.07 SDS; 95% CI: −0.10 to −0.03 and −0.07 SDS; 95% CI: −0.11 to −0.03) at 10 years. For distensibility, current BMI explained these associations. Children within the highest BMI tertile at ages 2 and 10 years had the lowest distensibility (p < 0.05), but similar intima-media thickness, compared with children constantly within the middle tertile. Conclusions: Infant weight growth patterns and childhood BMI are associated with subtle differences in carotid intima-media thickness and carotid distensibility at school age. For distensibility, current BMI seems critical. Follow-up is needed to determine whether these associations lead to adult cardiovascular disease.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 770-778 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Obesity |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The general design of the Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from the Erasmus University Medical Center; Erasmus University Rotterdam; the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw); the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO); the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport; and the Ministry of Youth and Families. VWVJ received funding from the European Research Council (ERC‐2014‐CoG‐648916). The project was supported by funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, under grant agreements no. 733206 (LifeCycle) and no. 874739 (LongITools), and from the European Joint Programming Initiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life” (JPI HDHL, NutriPROGRAM project, ZonMw no.529051022; PREcisE project, ZonMw no. 529051023; and EndObesity, ZonMw no. 529051026). RG received funding of the Dutch Heart Foundation (grant no. 2017T013), the Dutch Diabetes Foundation (grant no. 2017.81.002), and ZonMw (NWO, ZonMw, grant no. 543003109)
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Obesity published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Obesity Society (TOS)
